


Life Less Hard

by ladyvady



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Humor, I hope, Insecurity, M/M, Pre-Slash, Slash, bear with me, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-23
Updated: 2014-07-15
Packaged: 2017-12-27 09:43:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/977295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyvady/pseuds/ladyvady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurt’s life in Lima, Ohio, is nothing short of painful sometimes, filled with the hardships of bullying, the trials of being an out gay teen, and watching as those around you get to experience something he doesn’t think he will be able to until he leaves Ohio, love. However, what he learns and gains in the end wouldn’t be worth nearly as much if they had been easier to come by.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So, this is my first venture into writing fan fiction (sort of, I’ve yet to post anything, but I’ve got another story I plan to work on eventually in another fandom, but I digress), after spending the last couple of years reading it instead. That being said, constructive criticism is welcome and any help offered is truly appreciated. The story is ultimately Kurt/Sebastian endgame, but involves some kind of Klaine (not sure if I’ll have them in a full on relationship or not yet) before that; other canon and non-canon relationships occur as well. I suppose this is not quite an AU because I plan on using canon events, just maybe not in the order that they appeared in the show (or in the nature they were intended). I guess this means I should warn for spoilers from every season of Glee; for this chapter and any following. I’m also changing up ages, as I want everyone in the same grade and roughly the same age, to include Blaine and Sebastian, so at the start of this story they will all be juniors. Also, for the sake of making character interaction a tad more believable (within my story), the schools (McKinley and Dalton) will be located closer together. I’ll attempt to keep everyone within character, but as this is fan fiction and my interpretation of how I would like to see the characters develop as well as act (ah the beauty of fan fiction), I can’t promise they’ll all remain how they are portrayed in the show. For example, my Puck will remain his badass self; however, I plan on making him smarter than the show does. This story is not yet completed, but I am feeling fairly inspired in writing and will attempt to update on a regular basis; especially if it appears as though people may actually want to read more. There’s a slight possibility I’ll make this a crossover at some point, maybe in a sequel, with something I won’t mention now; however, I’ll wait how things progress first.
> 
> **  
> **Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, just any of my original content or characters. I do not plan to profit from this story either, even if that would be totally awesome. Any mistakes, as I don’t have a beta, are completely my own; though I have tried to find and fix as many mistakes as I could.**  
> **
> 
> **  
>   
> **
> 
> **  
> **_“Italics are for when another language that I’m too lazy to translate online through google or other such means is being spoken. I’d probably make a mess of it anyway and write something insulting about you, your mother, or possibly your dog; so it’s much better to be safe than sorry, if you will.” ___**  
> **
> 
> **  
>   
> **  
> ****  
> **_  
> _Warnings: Hmm…I plan on this being rated mature, though it will probably be mild for a while. Any other items, I will try to warn before the chapter it takes place in within an author’s note.__  
> **  
>  **  
>   
> **
> 
>  
> 
> ****  
> **_  
> _Phew! That was long, sorry.__  
> **

Best years of your life…my fabulously clothed ass, thought Kurt, as he once again enjoyed a view of the sky from the bottom of one of the dumpsters at McKinley High. Only a couple weeks into his junior year and he’s already wishing for summer holidays back. His summer reprieve from his Neanderthal fan club obviously not long enough to allow the idiots any time to evolve in any way beyond drooling and well, breathing, he supposed. It’s highly doubtful any of them spent their summer doing anything meaningful beyond bathing and even that isn’t necessarily a given; perhaps a little grunting at each other…who knows how beings lower than primates act together in their natural habitats. The only thing surprising about the dumpster dive is that his baby remained untouched. Apparently, the idiots knew enough to try and avoid possible felony property damage; so he guessed he would count the entire thing as a win because his Navigator remained safe.

Down with his contemplation and huffing to himself, Kurt first sat up then stood up and climbed out of the dumpster; hoping eau de funk and last week’s mystery lunch didn’t linger once he changed his new clothes (He’d toned down some of his more “fashionable ensembles,” though not his love for McQueen or layers, and decided to go for a more sophisticated, simpler look this year.) At least his growth spurt made it easier to do so; last year and the year before, climbing out sometimes did require help or a lot of struggling. Wiping off his clothes as best he could and feeling only a few new bruises as he stretched and adjusted his clothing, he grabbed his messenger bag and with his head held high walked through the front entrance of the school to head toward the girl’s bathroom close to his locker. No need to let anyone think the dumpster toss had affected him in any way, whether it actually did or not. At least the tosses no longer involved Finn or Puck. Although, offhandedly he had noticed that Karofsky seemed to make it more personal, but that just could have been Kurt’s imagination. His new style at least made his dry-cleaning bill a lot more reasonable; which freed up money for his vintage clothing and jeans collections. He’d found a new eBay seller with a ton of clothes he simply adored and had searched many a second hand store for anything that caught his eye that would add to his stylish collection. Kurt’s talent for sewing helped fixing items to round out his wardrobe. 

He comes upon Mercedes and Tina after entering the building and both girls enter the bathroom with him. Mercedes looks him up and down, asking “Boo, are you okay? I didn’t think those jocks were bothering you as much anymore.” Tina takes this in while also giving an unbelieving side glance toward Mercedes; which went unnoticed by the girl, but not by Kurt. Obviously Tina was not as unobservant as his supposed best friend. Internally sighing to himself, Kurt contemplates the girl who he has considered his best friend for the last couple of years before speaking. “Mercedes, do you honestly think those moronic jocks are going to give up their favorite pastime of dumpster tossing the gay kid? Never mind that I’m still in the Glee club, securing my spot at the bottom of the McKinley food chain. The only consolation is none of the teachers were around to conveniently not notice anything untoward happening.”

Kurt figures Mercedes new found crush on one of the football players is what’s skewing her perceptions to his continuing plight. At least he hopes it’s that and not a lack of caring on her part. He hasn’t spent nearly as much time with Mercedes this past summer as he has in the past; she’s either been out of town visiting family or busy; her words, not his. Because of this he has had the time to really get know Tina, and subsequently Mike, a lot better. Kurt and Tina spent a lot of time texting and emailing the first part of the summer when her and Mike were at Asian camp. Once the two returned from camp and Kurt got his baby as a belated birthday present, they spent a lot of time at the mall, second hand stores, and even driving to Columbus a couple times; sometimes dragging Mike along. Kurt got used to the wonderfulness of having a guy around to help carry bags, even if it’s not _his _guy doing it. He’d really enjoyed getting to know the two; Tina was great on girl’s nights in and he had discovered Mike was a great guy once he got to know him. Tina had really helped Kurt with the revamping of his wardrobe and he’d enjoyed having her opinion. (Smiling inwardly, he thinks, Carole, as much as he loved her, was a tad clueless in regard to fashion and his father or Finn were completely hopeless.) All of three of them actually have similar senses of humor and attitudes toward things, making the friendship a great one. Kurt discovered that Mike is a little more subtle and quiet about things, but once he gets used to you he opens up a lot. Kurt also thinks that Mike isn’t always comfortable speaking up; probably another reason Kurt hadn’t spoken much to the boy before this past summer. Mike has also become one of his study partners, since they both have the same math class this year and even after a summer of doing studying over the summer Kurt figures he can always use the extra help.__

__Shaking his head and bringing his thoughts back to the present, Kurt looks in the mirror to check his clothes and hair, while throwing a smile at both the girls. He has failed to notice the admiring glances they’ve given him after he changed shirts; this one a little tighter than the one he had previously been wearing. “Anyway, I’ve finished changing and it’s almost time for first period. This outfit is almost as remarkable as the first one, you both look wonderful, and I suppose it could have been worse. I’m just glad you both have not experienced the wonders of McKinley’s dumpsters.” Glancing one last time at the mirror to adjust his hair, he grabs his soiled clothes and bag to head out to his locker. “Come on ladies, time to face the halls of McKinley. Hopefully we’ll be lucky enough to avoid any slushies today. A boy _or girl _can only bring so many spare clothes to change into after all.” After exiting the bathroom, each girl takes one of his arms and they head to their lockers just down the hall.___ _

____After reaching his locker, he simultaneously looks for jocks to avoid any locker checks as well as grabbing any books he’ll need for his first couple of classes before lunch. He’s got French first thing, which is kind of nice, considering he basically knows the language better than his instructor and therefore, doesn’t have to pay as close attention as he does in some of his other classes. His silently thanks his mother’s willingness to teach him the language when he was younger as well as his father for helping to continue the pursuit after she passed away. He’ll use the time in class to double check on his honors English homework and the work being covered in pre-calculus. He kind of wishes one of his friends were in French class as well, but then he wouldn’t be able to use the time for school work and studying if that was the case. Oh well, he’s got Tina and Mike as well as Rachel, Santana, and surprisingly Puck, in most of his other classes and now that they’re all friends this is actually a good thing._ _ _ _

____He slams his locker closed just as the bell rings. He sends a wave to both the girls and tells Tina he’ll see her next period before turning to head off to class. He makes it to the room with a minimum of fuss and only a few slurs from one of the puckheads he passes on the way. Taking his usual middle seat near the window, he proceeds to pull out his French homework to turn in as well as his pre-calc and English homework to check over. Once he finishes, he’s still got another 20 minutes before the bell rings and can’t help but think about some of the other changes summer brought._ _ _ _

____Along with his expanded friendships with Tina and Mike, Rachel and Santana had both become better friends to him. Of course, the two were far from friends themselves. However, as both Brittany and he were such good friends, Santana forced herself to put up with Rachel. Although being Satan that didn’t mean she held back on expressing herself or her opinions on “man hands.” Kurt didn’t mind as he could appreciate sarcasm and a witty insult as much as the next person, and as much as he had come to love Rachel, that didn’t mean her ego didn’t still need a few hits or that she didn’t annoy him at times._ _ _ _

____After last year, Kurt had doubted he could ever be good friends with Rachel, but she had surprised him. Of course, her relationship with his step-brother probably helped influence this outcome and he had yet to let her in on his purposefully messing up Defying Gravity; so she still feels secure in her superiority. He rolls his eyes as he thinks this and notices his French teacher giving him an odd look. He hadn’t been paying attention to the discussion so the action had probably looked off. Oh well, he’d still ace the class and the eye roll probably made Mr. Andrews wonder if Kurt was up to something, so bonus._ _ _ _

____Despite always having the same classes, his friendship with Noah happened mostly by default at first. Of course, cultivating a friendship with someone as they are about to drop you into a dumpster tends to put a damper on things as well. Juvie had had a maturing effect on Puck and he spent a lot of time this summer with Finn, hoping to avoid trouble and his mother’s wrath; at least when Finn wasn’t spending time with Rachel. At first Puck would just head home if she showed up, but once he realized Kurt liked a lot of the same movies he did and could play the same video games as Finn, only better, he stuck around. It always made Kurt roll his eyes when one of the guys from Glee club realized that yes, Kurt too was a guy; therefore, Kurt liked “guy things” and not just fashion or other so-called “girlie” activities. That isn’t to say Call of Duty was his cup of mocha, but he would indulge; especially when he realized he had an aptitude for the game. He’s not sure how he developed such good hand-eye coordination, but he’d take it. Even though he never told either Finn or Puck, he actually enjoyed Halo and Mario Kart; if for no other reason as it drove both boys crazy whenever Kurt kicks their collective asses. Sometimes Kurt and Puck formed an alliance against Finn. Unfortunately, this lead to a lot of pouting on Finn’s part and a lot of cookie making on Kurt’s. He was a complete sucker for a serious pout and some puppy dog eyes; it was unfortunate that both Finn and Puck had discovered his kryptonite even if he was able to ignore the duo most of the time. At least he liked cooking or it would have made the whole thing a lot worse. As it was, the baking and cooking just helped to hone his skills as well as let him practice with healthy options for him to try and get his dad to eat._ _ _ _

____Unsurprisingly, Brittany and Kurt enjoyed several get-togethers over the summer (avoiding the fondue though); he had even given in and sat with her and Lord Tubbington to discuss the cat’s drinking problem and an obviously unhealthy fondness for Justin Bieber. Kurt assumed that the cat picked up drinking in order to shamefully blame the alcohol for his Bieber obsession, and agreed with Brittany that he needed to lay off the sauce. Most would probably wonder why he indulged her so, but as she was one of his most favorite people it never felt like he was indulging and was instead just enjoying his friend’s company. Besides Santana, he was probably one of the few that realized Brittany was far smarter than she let on and he could never begrudge his one and only girlfriend anything. As her dolphin, as she so lovingly referred to him, he couldn’t bring himself to disappoint her. Brittany and Santana were also willing to indulge him with his love of the Winnie the Pooh movie. He loved Disney in general, but he had a soft spot for the bear in his newest movie. Plus, a soundtrack with Zoey Deschanel singing on it? How could he possible not love it? He had an equally soft spot for Ms. Dechanel’s quirkiness since it spoke to his own._ _ _ _

____Although his friendship with Santana was built on the slightly shaky foundation of mutual love of Brittany, it was cemented with a joint appreciation for the other’s smartassness and talent for snark. Of course, she hid it well, but he was pretty sure she actually enjoyed his company compounded with his willingness to make her homemade bread sticks. Apparently, the way to Santana’s black heart involved carbs and a sharp tongue; both of which he was able and willing to provide. Santana even begrudgingly took part in girl’s night in; although her movie preferences leaned more towards anything involving “eye candy” as she put it or anything “wanky.” Any time spent watching musicals Rachel or Kurt picked out came with the accepted snide side commentary a la Satan Lopez. Rachel far from appreciated the comments, but he begrudgingly found them humorous; though Kurt generally tried to hide this from both of them. Kurt doesn’t think he was as successful as he would have liked in hiding it from Santana though; she always gives him this knowing look whenever it happens. Santana’s friendship did add to both his life and their get-togethers, so he really couldn’t imagine things any other way nor did he really want to._ _ _ _

____

Kurt was brought out of his thinking by the sound of the bell. Quickly tucking his work back into his bag, he dropped his homework off at the teacher’s desk and made for the door. He was held up by the barely contained tired sound of Mr. Andrews calling out to him in French. 

____

He answered back in the same language and tone “ _Yes, Mr. Andrews? _”__

________

Mr. Andrews looked as though he was barely containing an eye roll. “ _Although, I realize you are fluent in the language, I would appreciate it if you at least looked like you were paying attention in class, and learning something. That would set a good example for the other students in class. _”__

____________

Kurt cannot contain or hide his eye roll from the teacher. “ _I can hardly help it if the twits otherwise known as my fellow classmates fail to grasp the concept of the French language. They barely grasp English as it is. So it’s not altogether surprising most of them are incapable of passing the course with more than a D average. _”__

________________

Sighing, Mr. Andrews soldiers on. “ _Mr. Hummel, your opinion is not appreciated (But totally correct! Kurt thinks.). You should give your classmates more credit. Regardless, I believe you’ll benefit from a special project this year to help challenge you; as you so obviously feel as though you are currently lacking in one. I have a few ideas as to what this project could be and it might include working with one of my colleagues, but haven’t made any final decisions. I’ll let you know in the next couple weeks. _”__

____________________

Gripping his bag and glancing at the clock, Kurt responds. “ _Yes, Mr. Andrews. I’ll attempt to pay better attention and disregard the ignorance of the other students in class. I look forward to the special project, but I really need to get to my next class before I’m late. _” There, that should be placating enough, right?__

________________________

“ _Yes, yes, go. _” He waves Kurt out, somehow able to sound both indulging and annoyed at the same time. Here Kurt thought he was the only one with that talent; as he’d had plenty of practice cultivating the skill with both his dad and Finn at home.__

________________As it is Kurt barely make it to class before the bell rings. Thankfully Tina has saved him a seat next to her and Mike, with Rachel and Puck the next row over. While taking his seat, Tina and Rachel both look at him questioningly, but Kurt just mouths back that he’ll tell them later and fishes out his classwork from my bag. Unlike in French class, Pre-calc requires his full attention. Kurt may do well in the class, but it’s only through diligence and a lot of studying. Unlike with Mike and Puck, he may do well in math, but he’s far from a natural in it. Of course, when he claims this to be so to both boys they just roll their eyes at him, and Kurt really is rather lost as to why._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Before he knows it, lunchtime has arrived. He walks into the cafeteria with Tina and heads over to the food line. Normally he would try to bring something from home, as the options at school leave little to be desired; however, he’d felt inordinately lazy this morning and now he’s reaping the benefits, so-to-speak. Hopefully there’s a salad option of the pre-prepared variety available; the less contribution the lunch ladies have with food the better it is for all involved in his opinion. Kurt’s luck seems to be holding out and a fairly decent salad with grilled chicken is waiting for him. He grabs that, water, and a diet coke; feeling the need for a shot of caffeine to help make it through his afternoon classes. Tina grabs similar fare and they head outside to the table most of the glee members eat at after paying for their food._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Mike, Puck, and Artie are already at the table when they arrive. Giving greetings to each of them Kurt takes a seat, Puck on one side of him and Tina on the other. While he’s opening up his food, he glances around and notices Mercedes finishing up what looks like a conversation with the guy she’s been crushing on. Huh, isn’t that interesting. He also happens to be one of the ones who cheered on the tossing of him into the dumpster this morning. Kurt isn’t sure if he should mention this to her or not. He’s a little afraid of the reaction; either she’ll be mad at the guy and maybe Kurt too or what Kurt is a little more afraid of, she won’t let it affect her opinion of the guy at all. He’s a little sad that he’s not able to read her better and can’t count on her fully anymore it seems. Once again reflecting on the fact the two of them are not as close as they used to be._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________For now he chooses to go back to eating and puts the whole thing out of his mind for now, at least until it becomes more of an issue. He decides to pay more attention to the conversations going on around him. Artie and Puck are discussing sports, as far as he can tell; he’s hearing words like ‘tight end’ and ‘snap’ and ponders who comes up with these terms…drag queens? That’s about as far as his thinking goes though; his mind tends to shy away from talk of such type. His new wardrobe has not equated to a new found love of sporting events of any type; despite the bonus of seeing muscular guys sweating and running around in tight clothing (though the appeal of that is not completely lost on him). His foray last year into football notwithstanding, he thinks he’ll stick to Pilates and running for now, but he might talk to Puck about some light weightlifting. Kurt doesn’t want to bulk up by any means, but some additional toning wouldn’t go amiss. As he’s reflecting on this Finn and Rachel walk up to the table already in conversation._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“I’m telling you Rach, this new guy Sam is really good. I think he’d be great for glee club, especially after what happened with Sunshine.” Surprisingly, Finn (and a majority of those sitting at the table) gives Rachel a rather pointed look and she has the grace to look ashamed; somewhat, as ashamed she’s as possible of looking anyway._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“I realize our club is in dire need of new members, Finn, I was just expressing a need for an audition before anyone can join. As co-caption of the Glee club it’s my responsibility to ensure the level of talent within the club is not diminished in any way. Our group’s performing integrity is at stake after all.” Kurt notices he’s not the only one rolling his eyes at what she just said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Give it a rest hobbit. I’ve seen this new guy and he’s hot. He’d be great eye candy for our competitions even if he can’t sing at all.” Santana says this as she walks up to the table with Brittany in tow. “Brittany and I both vote for him to join.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Brittany nods agreement and says “I’m sure Lord Tubbington would agree as well; Sam’s got Justin Bieber hair.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Finn huffs out and plops down at the table. “Well, I’m hoping I can get him to join. I heard him singing in the locker room and I think I might have freaked him out a when I talked to him. I tried telling him how great Glee club was and how I was on the football team as well. He said he didn’t know if wanted to. I think he might be shy about auditioning in front of all of us.” He shrugs and starts stuffing his face with his lunch._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Wrinkling my nose in disgust at the barbaric display, Kurt sighs. “Finn, did it ever occur to you should have waited until he was, I don’t know, dressed before approaching the guy? Most of us aren’t comfortable standing around talking to someone while we’re naked.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Finn grunts a possible agreement and goes to speak, mouth full, but Kurt stops him by raising his hand. “Don’t you dare open your mouth while it’s full, Finnegan Hudson! I have no desire to see everything you’ve stuffed into your maw like it was going to run off your plate if you didn’t eat it fast enough. Chew with your mouth closed, swallow, and then speak; exactly in that order.” Finn has the grace to look contrite at least._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Finn finishes chewing and swallows. “Sorry, little bro. This doesn’t mean I don’t get cookies later right?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Kurt’s about to answer Finn’s question about the cookies when Puck jumps into the conversation and asks “Kurt made cookies? Kurt, dude, you’re holding out on me man! You know I love all that junk you make.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Rolling his eyes, Kurt swallows his own food to answer. “Don’t call me dude, Noah. I’ve told both you and Finn not to refer to me as such. And yes, I made chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookies last night, not junk, and no, I wasn’t holding out on you. I made sure to hide some from Finn for you to have the next time you came over. And Finn, I’m older than you. So why do you insist on calling me ‘little bro’?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Du…” Finn halts when Kurt starts to give what Tina has named his “bitch face” at him and exclaims. “Kurt! That’s so uncool. I wouldn’t have eaten them all.” Kurt gives him a disbelieving look. “I wouldn’t! Well, I might have. They’re really good. I do get some later, right?” Kurt nods. “Great.” Finn pauses for a minute, goofy grin in place, to think about the cookies before speaking again. “I call you little bro because you’re so much shorter than I am, it only makes sense to call you that. Oh, and Mr. Schue recruited me in the locker room, so I was just following tradition.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Shaking his head and cringing a bit, Kurt is about to answer when Puck speaks up. “You’re the best Kurt. I always knew I was your favorite, thanks for hiding some for me.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Finn apparently takes exception to this. “Dude! I’m his favorite and I’m his big brother.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Kurt decides to cut in before Puck can respond and it gets out of hand; the boys argue enough as it is. “Brittany’s my favorite, that’s why I brought some to school for her.” Smiling at her, Kurt gathers his trash and stands up. “I have to get them from my locker, Brit; I’ll bring them with me to glee practice later.” Brittany smiles hugely at him, before giving him a hug. He then turns to Mike and Tina. “I’ll see you both in class. I have to run to my locker to get my book. I forgot it earlier.” He’s about to wave at everyone and walk away to throw his trash away when he notices Puck and Finn looking at him. “Oh my Gaga, you two are ridiculous. Are you seriously pouting right now? I already said you could both have cookies at the house, so your puppy dog eyes have no effect on me currently. You just have to wait until after school and practice to get yours.” He didn’t think it was possible, but the pouting gets worse. “Honestly! Ridiculous! I’m going now.” He grabs his bag and trash, stomping away and completely misses the devious grins both boys are sporting._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________As he leaves the cafeteria Kurt’s shaking his head and rolling his eyes a bit. He’s not so much fuming as exasperated at both boys. Kurt’s pondering holding out on the cookies as he reaches his locker and opens it up. If he hadn’t been so distracted Kurt probably would have seen it coming and been able to avoid the brunt of it; unfortunately, he was and therefore, isn’t paying attention as he’s digging through his locker while muttering about ridiculous boys, right before getting slammed into the locker. Luckily he doesn’t hit his face, since the door was open; however, his shoulder and half his arm take a pretty solid hit. Wincing as he grabs his arm, he looks around just in time to hear Karofsky mutter “Out of the way homo” before laughing and walking away with his partner-in-idiocy, Azimio. More than a little shell shocked, Kurt tries to shrug it off, but the action falls a little short. Looking back into his locker, he blinks fast a few times to get rid of the moisture he can’t stop coming to his eyes, grabs Brit’s cookies to put in his bag and closes his locker. He’s probably going to have to apply something to his arm or at least run hot water on it in the shower tonight; no matter what he does though there’s going to be a few new bruises. Sighing, he gathers himself and walks to his next class. The walk gives him time to pull himself together so none of his friends notice anything is amiss; unfortunately, even though it’s only been about two weeks since the start of school it’s already getting harder to do. Although as observant as some of them are, none of really noticed that’s he’s getting hurt. At least not that he can tell anyway._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________The rest of the day before Glee practice goes by fairly fast and luckily with no other incidents. He loves Glee, but he really wishes he could just head home instead and get the day over with. Though it’s not like he would be going straight home anyway, he’s putting in some hours at his dad’s shop after school. At least he will be to lose himself working on cars instead of thinking about school while he’s there; he always enjoys losing himself working on cars. On the positive side, he’s heard rumors that the slushie machine may be getting removed from the school grounds (he’s pretty sure his dad has been talking to other parent’s to put in complaints), so that’s one thing to look forward to. Maybe he’ll spend the time in glee perusing the newest McQueen and Kate Spade scarves online. He also really needs to settle on which new ties he wants to get from thetiebar and order them. His jackets and other items he bought on eBay from his favorite seller should be coming in the mail soon too, so he can spend the time during practice planning outfits as well. He supposes things could be worse, and is already looking forward to the planning. Kurt may have changed up his look some or what some might consider toned down, but he is still Kurt and his love for fashion persists._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________When time for practice finally hits, Tina and Mike join him on the walk to the choir room. He’s already got his phone out, looking for a few items to show Tina as they enter. Half the group is already in the room, but only a few have taken their seats. He heads to the top row with Tina and settles down to plan and shop. He bookmarked a few items he thinks Tina might like and shows those to her first, while the rest of the club enters the room and sits down. Finn walks in last, smiling big, with another boy following behind him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Kurt and Tina take a break to study the guy, who must be the Sam he mentioned at lunch, and look at each to acknowledge their appreciation of his…uh, form. Kurt’s fully aware both Tina and him are being rather shallow, but the guy is really good looking. He hears Santana commenting…something to do with “trouty mouth” and turns to look at her while raising an eyebrow._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________She shrugs, and says “What? I’m totally right. Look at it! His mouth is huge. Think of all the possibilities.” They both kind of look up and off to the distance for a second after she says that until Kurt comes to himself, coughs to clear his throat a bit, and ignores the slight blush he’s more than likely sporting._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________He’d like to say he’s shocked at her words, but he’s not. This is actually fairly tame for her. However, he feels as though he’s got to reply in some way. “Really Satan, must you objectify the poor boy?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________She rolls her eyes. “Oh please, Lady Lips, I saw you and Tina both checking him out too as well as your little daydream eyes thinking about that mouth; so don’t act all innocent and accusing. We’re all just appreciating what he can bring to the club, after all.” She ends this with a smirk._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Now it’s Kurt’s turn to roll his eyes, but when she’s right she’s right and turns back to face the front of the room where Finn is still standing with his prospective new member. Before doing so though, he doesn’t fail to notice most of the girls in the room are definitely checking the new guy out; especially Mercedes and Quinn. Maybe he should warn trou…coughing he stops himself from using Satan’s nickname, even in the privacy of his own head...the guy of the impending doom he’s liable to face before it has a chance to occur. Nah, he’d probably look at me oddly anyway and even though that’s bound to happen regardless, might as well put off the inevitable as long as he can. Might provide some entertainment too; McKinley High is severely lacking in that regard. Besides, as he takes a moment to really look the guy over, he notices his hair and thinks, maybe I’ll get lucky and he’ll be gay. With that hair, which is in no way natural no matter what the box of Natural Instincts says, it’s a possibility; maybe he’s bi…_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Finn interrupts Kurt’s train of thought by saying “Alright guys, this is Sam Evans and I’ve talked him into trying out.” He turns to Sam and says “Once Mr. Schue gets here we can get started with your audition.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Kurt can’t help but notice how nervous the guy is. He wonders exactly what Finn has told him. It’s not like it matters how well his audition goes, they won’t turn him down. Sugar is in the club for Gaga’s sake and she just moves her lips to avoid harming anyone’s eardrums. The club needs the numbers and as long as he’s willing to participate that’s all Mr. Schue will care about. He hopes Finn hasn’t regaled him with stories of solos and what-not, because it’s not like that’s going to happen either._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Just as Kurt is about to possibly state this fact out loud Mr. Schue walks in. “Hey guys!” He turns toward Finn and Sam smiling and greets the latter. “Hi Sam, Finn has told me all about hearing you sing and we really look forward to having in the club, if that’s what you decide you want. He explained you were a little hesitant, but if you’re nervous about the audition, it’s really just a way to give you an experience of what it’s like to be in the club. Well that, and gives us a chance to hear you sing, of course.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Kurt doesn’t think Sam looks any more relieved after Mr. Schue’s pep talk (color him shocked), but he hasn’t run from the room yet, so that’s something he supposes. At least he doesn’t mention Coach Sylvester and becoming a potential target on her radar. He’ll learn that soon enough should he decide to stay. Finn did mention Sam trying out for the football team, so maybe Coach Beiste will provide some additionally protection for the guy; even if she’s not currently a supporter of the club either. However, unlike Coach Sylvester, Beiste is far from fanatic in her need to rid the school of the Glee club and torture the student body; especially those in Glee._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Clearing his throat, Sam starts to speak. “Uhm...hi everyone.” He gives a little wave and smile to the room. “Thanks for the information Mr. Schue. I’m still not entirely sure I want to join the club, but I told Finn I would come by and audition anyway.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Mr. Schue gives what Kurt thinks is supposed to be an encouraging smile. “That’s fine Sam; we don’t want to pressure you. We’ll support your decision no matter what. So do you have a song in mind?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Sam nods an affirmative. “Yes I do, and I was hoping that maybe I could get some help, if anyone can play guitar with me?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Puck jumps up and grabs his guitar. “Sure man, I got your back. Finn plays drums, so he can help too.” Finn nods to both and heads over to the drum set. Puck goes to stand next to Sam and asks “So what are we playing man?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Do you guys know Billionaire?” Sam asks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Puck and Finn both nod before Puck speaks. “The one with Bruno Mars? Yeah dude, that song’s pretty badass.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Sam starts off playing, with Puck and Finn right after. Once Sam starts singing, the entire club sits up to listen. He’s pretty good and Kurt’s glad Finn found the guy. Kurt’s not sure how much his step-brother will like it when he realizes this means he might have to give up some solos or duets with Rachel to the guy, but that’s something to think about another day._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Once Sam finishes, everyone starts clapping and cheering. Mr. Schue seems pretty excited. “That was great Sam. Like I said before, no pressure, but we’d love to have you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Smiling, Sam says “Thanks Mr. Schue” and turning everyone else “and all of you. That was pretty cool, but I still have some thinking to do.” He turns back to Mr. Schue again. “I’ll try to let you know by the end of the week on what I decide; if that’s okay.” Mr. Schue nods his okay._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Mr. Schue tells Sam he’s welcome to stay for practice if he wants, but he declines with a polite thank you, but he’s got to head home. Sam turns to wave goodbye to the rest of us before walking out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Clapping his hands together, Mr. Schue turns to the class and says “Okay guys, that went great and hopefully Sam will decide to join us. I don’t have an assignment for this week since we’re trying to get new members, but if anyone has anyth…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Before he can finish the sentence Rachel is hopping up and begins to speak. “Mr. Schue, as co-captain of Glee, I completely agree that Sam would be a great addition to the group. Since I failed in my own recruitment of a new member (Kurt rolls his eyes at this and sees Tina, Mercedes, and Santana doing the same). I have prepared a song in which I believe adequately expresses my regret.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________As she’s saying this, Kurt no longer bothers to pay attention and goes back to his phone once again. He figures he’s not going to miss anything new and the sound of her singing becomes simply a background buzzing noise. Even becoming better friends with the girl over the summer isn’t going to make him listen to her sing right now. Kurt’s sure she’s sorry that she sent Sunshine to that crack house, but he’s also equally sure she’s not really sorry the girl left the school; even if Sunshine went to a rival club._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________By the time Rachel is done singing and expressing herself as well as her ‘sincere’ apologetic attitude it’s basically time to go. The guys on the football team have practice, so Finn drove himself to school today, so Kurt won’t need to worry about giving him a ride. However, this also means he’s not sure if he’ll have someone to walk out to the parking lot with and he can’t help but worry about being harassed by any jocks. The football players may have practice, but he’s not sure if the hockey team does. Sighing to himself, he gathers his bag and puts his phone away. His dad is expecting him soon, so he can’t afford to delay by hiding out in the library or girl’s bathroom until the school clears out some._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________It appears his luck isn’t up, as Tina asks him for a lift; at the worst they will only face slushies. He tells her yes and they head out of the choir room. Rachel rushes to catch up and walks out with them. They chat about songs and Kurt again offers to help make-over Rachel and her wardrobe, for real this time, but she sadly declines the offer. He shakes his head as he looks at her animal print sweater. “Really Rachel, looking at that sweater is more painful than a root canal without Novocain, actually your whole outfit is enough to bring on a migraine.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________She shakes her head. “Kurt, you know this is my signature look.” Kurt wonders what “signature” she’s aiming for because Rachel is looking more five-year old then teenager. He remembers to pay attention to her again. “Besides (as she looks down) I like this sweater; I even have one in fuchsia.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Kurt freezes and pitches the bridge of his nose, feeling more than a little sick, before starting to walk again. “You have more than one of those things? Oh my god Rachel. One of these days I’m going to sneak into your room and burn all your clothes. The world may even give me an award for doing so. You must stop shopping in the little girl’s section, no matter what height you are.” They reach his truck and he unlocks it so Tina can get in. “Rachel, do you need a ride as well?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Kurt, don’t you dare touch my clothes! I work really hard on putting my ensembles together.” He’d laugh if she didn’t look so serious. As it is, he can’t hold in a choking noise. “Thank you, but no, my dads are picking me up so we can go buy some sheet music.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________After saying goodbye, he climbs into the driver’s seat and glances over at Tina, wondering if she’s in the same state of disbelief. She is and they both burst out laughing. Between chuckles, Kurt says “I love her, but I really can’t believe that girl some times. Her closet is a cross between an eight-year olds and something from a graveyard where bad fashion goes to die only to come back to life to plague my life like some kind of undead fashion horror story.” Tina huffs another laugh as he grabs his phone to put on some music while they drive to Tina’s place._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“It is rather hard to look at her sometimes” Tina says, and they discuss their homework before he drops her off at her house. “Let’s just hope she doesn’t discover bell bottoms or shoulder pads in that graveyard.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Kurt shudders and says before she shuts the door “Bite your tongue Tina! Don’t even think that thought!” He waves and drives off, still cringing at the thought of shoulder pads._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________He parks in the back at his dad’s shop and hops out. He grabs his phone, as he’s hoping to zone out to some music while working. Kurt has a change of clothes in a locker inside the shop, so he doesn’t really need anything from his bag right now and leaves it in the truck. Walking in through the back door, he heads over to his dad’s office, waving at the mechanics as he passes them. The guys are pretty cool and tolerant of him; he’s been around most of them since he could walk and Kurt’s just happy his dad doesn’t have to worry about any negativity from his employees. Plus, the guys respect that he knows his stuff and Kurt’s love of working on vehicles._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________He smiles at his dad as he walks into the office until he sees the giant box of donuts on his desk and what appears to be Slim Jim in his dad’s hand. Kurt is still digesting this disturbing imagery when his dad looks up and greets him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Hey buddy, how was school?” Burt is smiling as he says this before taking a bite of his supposed ‘meat’ treat._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Dad! What are you eating?! This stuff is horrible for you. Carole and I are trying so hard to get you to eat healthier food and I find this (he waves at the donuts) on your desk! You’re not as young as you use to be Dad.” Kurt is in the process of crossing his arms and frowning when his dad speaks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Kurt! I’m the parent in this relationship in case you’ve forgotten. Besides, donuts are really good. I don’t eat them every day.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“No, just every other day” Kurt mutters “with a side order of whatever fatty meat product you can get your hands on. I swear you would add bacon to everything you eat if we let you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________His dad has the shame to look sheepish at this. “Come on kid, I eat all that healthy crap you and Carole fix at home. Give a guy a break. You have to let me eat this stuff some times.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Ugh, I swear.” He rolls his eyes as he receives puppy dog eyes from the master Puck and Finn learned from. Exasperatedly, tossing his arms up dramatically, he says “Fine, but you really need to start cutting back more. I worry about you dad. I don’t want to lose you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Burt loses the eyes at that. “I know Kurt and I promise I’ll start cutting back on the junk food. I can’t make the same promise about bacon though.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“I’ll take what I can get for now” Kurt says, knowing his dad is only get turkey bacon at home no matter what he says and then points at his dad “but I’ll be watching you mister.” He then breaks out into a smile._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________His dad smiles back and then sits up in his chair more. “You plan on working today or just standing around counting my calories?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Kurt gives his own little pout and huffs. “Please, I’m a master at multi-tasking, I can do both. But fine, I’ll change and get to work.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Burt nods. “Alright, I’ve got a couple oil changes you could do. We’re a little more backed up then I would like, so that would help a lot. If you finish those up you can work on one of your projects out back.” He says the last with a smile. His dad really enjoys the fact that Kurt loves working with cars and other vehicles so much. Not that many of his friends know this, in fact none of them really know that much beyond he can change the oil on a car, but Kurt has an equal love with working with mechanical things like car engines as he does for fashion. He’s even got a sketch books for both his loves._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Nodding to his dad he says, “Not a problem. I’ll only be a minute to change and then I’ll get started.” After grabbing his coveralls and work boots, he heads to the bathroom to change. He’s actually looking forward to the mindless work the oil changes and some tinkering will provide to get out of his head for a bit. Kurt’s spending way too much time on worrying about bullies and not enough time on restoring the 68 Camaro in back anyway. He’s already worked with his dad to restore a few vehicles, but this one he’s doing on his own and it’s coming along pretty well, he thinks. It would probably shock all the guys in Glee if they knew what he was doing. Despite how he has gotten closer to some of them, they all still tend to jump to conclusions about the things Kurt likes and what he can do. Though, to be fair, both Noah and Mike are breaking through that mentality._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________After changing the oil on the third car, Kurt comes out from under the car while wiping his hands on a rag. He looks up at the clock on the wall and figures he can work on the car in back for about 45 minutes before heading home. He doesn’t have a lot of homework tonight, and nothing that’s due tomorrow, so he can spare the time to work on the Camaro. The body of the car is in pretty good condition, but he’s concentrating on the engine for now. He won’t be happy until she’s purring like a cat and running smoothly. Feeling as though working on a muscle car probably requires rock music, he changes to one of his rock playlists, grabs his tools from his locker and heads out back. As he’s humming along, he reflects on the fact that he’d probably never hear the end of it should Puck or Finn discover he’s got anything by AC/DC or Black Sabbath on his phone; let alone similar bands. Kurt doesn’t care though; it almost feels like he has to listen to something like this while working on a car like the one he’s working on. Besides, he’s not nearly as two dimensional as those two or many of the other Glee members think he is; Kurt’s not just Broadway musicals and fashion. Hermione Granger would never accuse him of having the “emotional depth of a teaspoon”; however, she might not feel the same way about most of the population of his high school._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Getting lost in the workings of the engine, the time goes by fairly fast. Before he knows it his dad is tapping him on the shoulder, waiting until Kurt pulls the ear buds out before speaking. “Kurt, it’s getting close to dinnertime so I thought I’d let you know in case you were planning on heading home soon.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Shaking his head yes, he says “Thanks dad, yeah, I figured I could help Carole out once I got home. I don’t really have any pressing schoolwork to do, so helping out isn’t a problem.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“I’m sure she’d love the help buddy, but don’t stress on it. Why don’t you get this all cleaned up and your tools put away and head on home. You need to eat well too you know.” Giving Kurt a pointed look as if reminding him that yes, he is your father and the taking care of someone goes both ways._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Smiling, Kurt says “I know Dad. I think I might come back this weekend to work on her some more though. It won’t be long before I can start her up and maybe start working on the body soon. I’m assuming you’ll be heading home shortly as well.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“You bet kid, it’s almost six. Tell Carole I should be home by six-thirty. Going to get everything closed up and send the guys home for the night.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________They walk into the shop together and separate as Kurt turns towards his locker. “I’ll see you at home dad. Drive home carefully.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Will do bud, but stop worrying so much. The last thing I need is a 16 year old with an ulcer. I’ll see you at home” He waves as he enters his office and Kurt removes his coveralls before heading out to his truck._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Once he reaches home, he takes his stuff down to his room after letting Carole know he’ll be right back up to give her a hand. She attempts to wave him off; stating she’s okay on her own, but he won’t have it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Dinner is a fairly uneventful fair, minus the additional person at the table in the form of one Noah Puckerman. Puck’s giving Kurt the puppy dog eyes again and he knows it’s because of the cookies he promised him earlier._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Brittany had shared hers with Santana during Glee practice and Puck had looked pretty put out about it; Kurt and Santana had just found it hilarious. Brittany had been completely oblivious to the envious stares from both Puck and Finn the entire time. He supposed he would put the boys out of their misery. He’s sure Carole hadn’t allowed Finn to have any of the ones in the cookie jar before dinner and Noah’s cookies were still hidden, so they have waited with little patience for long enough._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________He heads to the pantry and removes Puck’s cookies from an empty box of quinoa. Finn won’t even look at the box because he’s convinced it’s some kind of organic, vegan thing Rachel left over that he’ll have to eat if he touches it; he also has no idea how to pronounce it. Kurt chuckles to himself, it makes a great hiding place from both Finn and his father. They never voluntarily eat anything healthy for themselves if they can help it and certainly won’t make it themselves._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________He pours milk for both of the boys, grabs the cookies and heads back to the table. He has trained them to no longer snatch and grab like rabid animals that haven’t eaten all winter, so he’s able to put the milk and cookies safely onto the table without losing an appendage. However, once the items are on the table it’s another story altogether and the scene that unfolds is not unlike what he images a pack of wild dogs behave over a scrap of meat. Tearing himself away from the Animal Planet scene he’s watching, he shakes his head at both and says “You two are absurd. You’re behaving like wild animals. You just had dinner so it’s not like you’re starving.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Noah and Finn give him baleful, crumb-filled looks; obviously Kurt doesn’t get it, but he’s fine with that. Rolling his eyes at the five year olds in teenage bodies he heads down to his room. He might as well work on his schoolwork some regardless of the due date, he’s bored and he doesn’t like to procrastinate on his homework anyway. Once he reaches his room, he pops his phone into charger slash player, so he can listen to some music while he works. He’s finished almost all his math and English assignments by the time it comes to do his nightly skin regimen, so he counts it as a good night. The math is giving him a little trouble, so he might ask Noah or Mike to help him out with it tomorrow; despite the eye rolling he’ll be subjected to._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Once said regimen is completed, it’s almost ten and since he’s pretty tired and still a little sore from the locker and dumpster incidences, he decides to go to bed early. As he lies in bed, he thinks about everything that happened during the day. It’s only 3 weeks into September and he’s already tired of school. He still has two more school years in Lima and it seems like forever until he’ll be able to make his escape. He knows it could be worse, and he’s not altogether unhappy with his classes, but everything with the bullying and especially Karofsky is weighing down on him. Kurt feels alone and even though he knows his dad would want to know what’s going on, he really doesn’t want to stress him out. Things are mostly settled down with Finn now that their parents are married and he seems to be fairly comfortable with Kurt nowadays; even if some misconceptions and miscommunications still occur. Carole has been a godsend and has made combining their families so much easier than it could have been. They both know she’ll never replace his mother, but she’s not trying to and he really does love her. He loves Finn as well and knows he means well most of the time. Complaining about some stupid bullying is only going to disrupt things when they are just finally starting to settle; he can’t be that disruption._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Sighing to himself, he turns on his side, after noticing he’s been thinking about all this for nearly 30 minutes already. He’s going to try and be positive, hoping that things won’t get any worse; maybe they’ll even get better. The pessimistic voice in his head tells him his wishful thinking is sweet and never going to happen. Scarily, it sounds a little like Coach Sylvester. Shuddering he shoves that thought and the others away as much as he can, and drifts off to sleep.  
Well that’s chapter one, and hopefully it’s not horrible and good introduction into the story. I don’t plan on doing every chapter equal one day every time; though I do plan on somewhat a slow build. Like I mentioned at the top, I plan on this being Kurtbastian endgame and mixing up the timeframe some as well as ages; so remember this warning when stuff that already happened in the series hasn’t happened yet. Just an example, I plan on Kurt and Mercedes joining the Cheerios in the current school year, and not their sophomore year like in the show. Let me know if I seem to be doing alright. I will do my best to update on a fairly regularly basis._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________***So I’ve gone through and cleaned things up a bit more, and added or changed a sentence here or there, but no big changes. I’m doing this for the first three chapters and updating them all with the addition of a 4th chapter._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	2. Chapter 2

Practically growling, Kurt yells out “FINN!” He grumbles, after slamming the refrigerator shut about stupid brothers and stomps to the living room where Finn is watching a movie with Puck. After a trying week of crap a la mode via school life at McKinley Kurt was looking forward to some “me time” in the form of one strawberry sorbet facial mask and soaking his feet in a nice foot bath. He’d spent the afternoon after practice working at his dad’s shop and had spent most of the time thinking about relaxing at home that evening. Only to come home to finding said facial mask missing from the refrigerator. Upon reaching the living room, he sees Finn dipping a spoon into the container that has, in permanent marker! ugh, the words ‘don’t touch…that means you Finn!!!!!’ written on the side. 

Taking a deep, grounding breath Kurt speaks. “Finn, did anything happen today, such as a hard hit to the head occur at school today or before I got home resulting in your inability to see or read?” Tapping his right foot, he waits for an answer.

“Uhh…No?” Finn says, his mouth slightly open, looking as though he’s still trying to figure out exactly what Kurt has just said; however, the attempt at thinking hasn’t stopped him from scooping up another bite. Kurt then becomes disgusted for multiple reasons; Finn’s lack of manners…eat with your mouth closed anyone?...and his inability to not piss Kurt off by eating his face cream. Again. 

Puck, obviously finding the whole scene humorous, has enough brains to keep his trap shut; though a smirk lights his face as he turns back to the television. The boy is lucky Kurt is focused on Finn right now because he’s still irritated at both Noah and Mike for their complete lack of sympathy with regard to his math work. He still doesn’t believe them when they say that he’s actually ahead of them in the subject, but turns his thoughts back to the matter at hand.

“Are you sure? Because I can’t possibly think of any other reason why you would be stuffing your mouth with something that looks just like my facial cream! A facial cream that was inside a container that looks amazingly just like the one sitting on your lap that has a ‘don’t touch’ message written directly to you on the outside of said container. So I thought I would check to make sure you’re not suffering from some medical ailment that is impairing your eyesight…along with your admittedly dubious judgment.” Kurt crosses his arms and waits for what promises to be an interesting explanation. He really doesn’t have the patience for this tonight, but he has to at least attempt to get his point across; this isn’t the first time Finn’s done something like this. Kurt knows that in the grand scheme of things the facial crème really isn’t that important, but with all the other crap going on in his life it’s practically the proverbial straw. 

“Kurt…I couldn’t help it! It tastes so good and I was starving when I got home.”

Kurt barely refrains from stomping his foot down; he is not a two year old even if his brother mentally is. “I told you last time that you’re not supposed to eat it, you’re supposed to put it on your face! Besides, you’re always hungry Finn, so that excuse isn’t valid.” 

“But it was in the frig! That means its food and it tastes just fine, so it's not expired.” 

“Like I told you last time, it has to be kept in the refrigerator or it will spoil and I said 'isn't valid,' not expired. That’s also why I wrote the note on it, so you wouldn’t eat it.” Kurt looks pointedly at the container in Finn’s lap, raising an eyebrow.

“Why can’t you use that other one that’s in there that you told me not to eat?”

Kurt closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I love how selective your memory is, and I can’t use the other one because it’s hummus and not a facial mask! I can’t put that on my face, it’s for pita chips, not unclogging my pores! And I told you not to eat that one as well because you devour stuff as though you think it’s going to run away from you if you don’t eat it fast enough. Honestly, Finn, other people live in this house too.” 

“It’s not my fault you make so many things that taste good. You should stop making things that tempt me dude!” Finn says, and then has the nerve to take yet another bite. 

Kurt just knows his nostrils are flaring and he’s about two seconds from dumping the rest on Finn’s head before he comes up with a better idea. “That’s it! I’m revoking lady chats for two weeks.”

“What?!” Finn sits up and almost drops everything. “No…come on Kurt! You can’t do that! I’m sorry! What if something happens with Rachel or something and I need to talk?”

“Nope, two weeks, and it’ll be longer if you keep it up. Don’t think I didn’t hear that “dude” either. I’m being generous with two weeks, and I suggest you refrain from making Rachel upset.” Kurt smirks, and thinks to himself, good luck with that. Rachel is always upset about something and his stepbrother is bound to be one of those things in the next two weeks. 

Finn looks as though Kurt’s given him a puppy, only to then take it away and kick it before giving the puppy away to someone living in another country. Looking sadder than any straight boy ever has any right to be over the loss of late night chats over warm milk with his gay step-brother, Finn decides to make one more attempt at sympathy by turning on the pout. 

Rolling his eyes, Kurt smirks. “Nice try Hungry Hungry Hudson, but it won’t work. I was looking forward to this facial all day and now I’ll have to use something else. If my skin suffers because of this, I’m deleting the saved data from all your video games and I’ll tell Rachel and your mom what I caught you doing two weeks ago.” Kurt’s also got a back-up to scare him with as well; the words ‘browser history’ generally gets Finn to beat a hasty retreat.

Showing the only real fear he’s probably felt during this whole entire ridiculous affair, Finn drops the spoon into the container and attempts to hastily hand it to Kurt. 

“Ugh – Don’t you dare! That’s disgusting Finn. I refuse to put that anywhere near my face after you’ve been slobbering all over it. You’re just going to have to reap what you sow.”

“But I didn’t do anything to your clothes!”

Kurt’s mouth almost drops open in shock, but before he can come up with a proper response, Puck busts out laughing. “Dude, he didn’t mean you did anything to his clothes. He meant you’re going to have to deal with no “lady chats” (rolling his eyes as he says that with air quotes) for two weeks because you ate his face junk. You should take it. Princess probably has all kinds of dirt on you, besides whatever stupid thing you did two weeks ago, so it could be worse, man.”

Glancing from Puck to Kurt, Finn gets nervous. “Okay, okay, fine. I’ll leave the strawberry stuff alone from now on.” The pout doesn’t really go away though, now that his punishment is really sinking in.

He looks so incredibly sad about the whole thing, Kurt relents…a little. “Alright, if you behave yourself, I will make some for you to eat as well.” Just as Finn’s about to excitedly reply, Kurt states “But not for at least two weeks.”

Finn deflates a little at that, and stares forlornly down at the container that he has placed back in his lap. 

Point made, Kurt nods to himself, and heads back to the kitchen for a snack to eat while pampering himself. If he hears Puck chuckling as he walks away, he pointedly to ignores it. He’s above such things really…or maybe he’ll just wait until he gets to his room before he starts his own laughing. 

________________________

 

He’s pondering the last week, which has been anything but inspiring, while applying his regular face mask. Despite the rumor about the slushie machine, the torture device remains on school grounds. Because of this, along with Rachel and Tina, he’s received 3 slushie facials (food coloring really not good for his skin) and more locker shoves than he can count in the past week. There’s quite the bruise on his back near his left shoulder from one particularly hard push from Karofsky just two days ago. He was actually lucky that time because he caught himself before hitting his head on the locker as well. How sad it is though when he’s considering it ‘luck’ that only his shoulder is bruised. Of course, even when the pushing isn’t occurring he still has to hear insults thrown his direction by a lot of the jocks of the school; mostly Karofsky’s cronies or the idiots on the hockey team sporting the fashion disaster known as the mullet. Talk about nightmare inducing; even if the idiots weren’t pushing him around the hair alone would make him flinch. 

On the up side, Sam decided to join Glee and despite some bumps in the form of Coach Beiste at first, everything has worked itself out. Beiste and Schue came to some sort of compromise after what appeared to be an unholy alliance between Schue and Coach Sylvester that seemed determined to run the new coach out of the school. He's honestly beginning to wonder exactly what part of "teacher" in their job descriptions they are fulfilling. Perhaps Schue should spend a little more time on learning the language he’s supposedly teaching; Kurt’s pretty sure he’s learned more on his own of the Spanish language than all of Schue’s students have combined. Think on Spanish class, maybe that hot substitute teacher will come back and sing in Glee club again; Kurt still has some pleasant thoughts on that man and his hips. 

As he finishes applying the mask, he looks at his reflection and signs. Kurt is starting to get rundown trying to hide how bad the bullying is becoming from everyone; well, his dad, Carol, and Tina anyway…perhaps Puck too. The rest of his friends have their own issues to deal with (and he understands that, he supposes) and their distraction is both a blessing and a curse. He can’t help but feel a little hurt that no one really notices; it’s making him feel more than just a tad invisible. At the same time, their obliviousness makes it easier to hide everything. He’s only got to make it to winter break, then spring break, and finally summer; that shouldn’t be too hard. Plus, he can spend time working at his dad’s garage or sketching to pass the time and not have to worry about someone trying to hurt him. Perhaps his plan of attack should be finding new ways to avoid and hide…maybe change up his current routine a bit; bullies can’t do something to someone they can’t find.

He shakes himself a bit and tries to be positive instead. It’s Saturday tomorrow and Tina is meeting up with him to go to the mall and to check out the new coffee place they had heard about, the Lima Bean. He’s hopeful they have decent coffee, since the selection before now has been fairly slim bordering on abysmal. Kurt’s not expecting much though, he’s realistic; this is Lima after all. 

After washing the face mask off, Kurt proceeds to moisturize while thinking about the outfit he’ll wear the next day. They haven’t quite reached the end of the quarter yet, but it’s starting to get cooler during the days regardless and so layering his clothes won’t stick out as much; for which he is truly happy since sometimes his layers make him feel a little more secure and easier to hide bruises. He walks into his closet while rubbing lotion into his hands and arms; proceeding to pick out a pair of dark burgundy skinny jeans and undershirt combined with a white, long sleeve button down dress shirt with dark gray pin striping and a dark gray waistcoat. He’ll decide on which jacket to wear in the morning once he has a better impression on how the weather will turn out. After looking through his scarves, he picks one he can tie with an ascot knot and grabs his black boots so he can have the outfit ready for in the morning. After taking one last look at the ensemble, he decides his small, silver dragonfly broach will go perfect with the outfit and pins it to the waistcoat. 

Satisfied with his decision and finished with his skin care, Kurt decides to head back upstairs since it’s almost dinner time anyway. Carole may need help and it’s near impossible to drag Finn or Puck away from the television to lend a hand. It’s probably safer that way regardless; they tend to eat the food before it gets to the table or burn it. Before heading up the stairs he sends a quick text to Tina confirming when he’ll be by to pick her up the next day. He figures they’ll head to the Lima Bean first before the mall. Kurt knows some good coffee (hopefully) will start things off right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter that's fairly lighthearted...kind of an interlude I suppose, but I plan on making the next one longer. It'll also be introducing Blaine into the story. 
> 
> Thanks to anyone who read the first chapter, and my kudo givers!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! Life got busy, but here’s chapter three. I hope you all enjoy. Thanks to everyone who's read the story so far!

Kurt wakes up to a cool, but sunny Saturday morning in a fairly decent mood. Despite yesterday’s facial cream debacle with Finn, he’s hopeful that the weekend will go fairly well. It’s only a little after 7:30, so he lounges in bed for a few minutes, taking the time to wake up a little more before getting up to complete his morning ablutions. He’s not picking Tina up until 9, so he’s got plenty of time to get ready after making a quick breakfast upstairs. 

He’s in the middle of looking through the refrigerator when he feels eyes burning into the back of his head and possibly the distinct sound of teenage boy growling stomach. He tries to ignore it; if he doesn’t look then he doesn’t have to acknowledge anything. It’s not until he hears a pitiful sigh that he gives up and slowly turns around. He’s expecting Finn, even though it’s really entirely too early for him to be up, and finds not only Finn, but also Puck and his Dad. Kurt’s almost too shocked to roll his eyes. Almost.

“Really, Dad?” Kurt starts to say. “I expect this from the troublesome twosome, but from…actually, no, I do expect this from you too” he says, while shaking his head “never mind. I’m meeting with Tina in just a little bit, so I don’t have a lot of time this morning. There is a lovely selection of cereal in the pantry, boys.” He smiles sweetly and turns back to the refrigerator. “And oh look…cottage cheese and Greek yogurt too. Carole bought some lovely fruit too. A veritable feast just waiting for you, I do so hope you’ll enjoy it.” Kurt waits for the whining to begin. Unsurprisingly, it takes less than 30 seconds for everything he said to sink in and the whining starts; it’s obvious that no coffee has entered their blood streams yet. He’s not even surprised it’s his Dad who starts things off.

“Now Kurt, you know I don’t enjoy cereal as much as your pancakes. Can’t you make your old man some to show your love and appreciation for all the hard work I do at the shop that helps finance your wardrobe? I even ate all that healthy crap you and Carole packed into my lunches all week. ” 

Kurt clutches at his silk pajama covered heart. Ouch, a direct hit. Talk about striking a person where it hurts. It’s as if his dad knows Kurt’s got three new things bookmarked on his laptop, ready for purchase. Exhaling slowly, he starts to speak, only to be interrupted by both Puck and Finn.

“Bro! I can’t eat that stuff. I need real food this morning because I’m going over to Rachel’s today. She always makes me eat that veganatarian stuff, like tofu and beans with soy, when I am over there and I can’t eat too much of that because it gives me gas. I can’t get gas Kurt! It’d be so frickin’ embarrassing and then Rachel would dump me because I farted around her! She’s a girl and they aren’t used to stuff like that.”

“I haven’t had your pancakes in months, Princess. _Months, _” he stresses, “and I’m starting to feel withdrawals. My mom is working this morning and my sister is staying at friend’s house, so there’s not going to be anything to eat at home. So if I don’t eat here, I may starve, Kurt. You don’t want Noah to starve, do you?” He finishes with Kurt thinks is supposed to be a pitiful frown and the batting of his eyes.__

__“Wow, man, why didn’t you tell me you guys didn’t have any food at home?” Finn asks._ _

__“Oh my Gaga, pouring it on a little thick aren’t we Noah? There’s more drama going on in here than a Shakespearean tragedy.” Kurt rolls his eyes. “Starving Puck? Really? For that performance I should make you both watch my Dad eat his pancakes.” Despite saying this, he starts grabbing all the necessary ingredients for making pancakes, and the turkey bacon, after hearing his dad muttering about how great bacon is with pancakes. Honestly, he spoils them all; perhaps he owes himself a Grande mocha with 2% milk later instead of soy as treat for dealing with the three of them. Kurt looks over at them; perhaps some biscotti as well._ _

__Thankfully, making breakfast doesn’t actually take him that long and he’s got two teenagers to clean up the mess, so he can go get ready. Kurt’s got about 45 minutes before he has to leave, so he heads down to his room to change into the outfit he picked out and do his hair. He finishes with about 10 minutes to spare, but decides to head out any way. Tina is probably all ready to go since she doesn’t have to deal with his Dad, Finn, or Puck. He needs more caffeine too, so getting to the coffee shop sooner isn’t a problem either. He grabs his bag and heads upstairs._ _

__Kurt’s about five feet from the front door when someone sidles up to him and throws an arm around his shoulders. He knows its Noah because unlike most boys his age, Puck always smells really good and Kurt does like the smell of his cologne._ _

__“You don’t mind if I come with you do you, Princess?”_ _

__“Noah, why would you want to come with Tina and me to the mall? You know that we’re going to spend all our time in and out of stores. I doubt you’re going to find it very interesting and I don’t want to spend all day listening to you whine about your feet hurting or “why must we go into another store, Kurt?”.”_ _

__“Kurt! You know you’re my boy. Why wouldn’t I want to spend time with you? We haven’t hung out in weeks and I miss it.”_ _

__Kurt looks at him and realizes Puck’s being sincere. “If I let you go, you’re on bag holding duty, you realize? And you have to behave yourself. I do not want a repeat of the incident that happened earlier in the summer.”_ _

__“That dude totally deserved it! He was perving on you and he was old!”_ _

__“Noah, he was not ‘perving’ on me and he was 23 at the most!”_ _

__“Exactly! Old. And he was perving on you, Kurt, you just never see it.” Puck rolls his eyes after saying that last part; damn but his Princess is blind as hell. “It’s like you have blinders on man. I may not be gay, but I’ll admit you’re a hot piece of ass, Princess.” He punctuates this statement with a smack to Kurt’s ass. “Your hugs are killer too. They always make me feel better.”_ _

__“Noah! Do that again and I’ll make sure you’re unable to impress the ladies with your prowess ever again.” Kurt states. He won’t admit it, but Puck’s words have flustered him; time to get back to the original point. “You’ll be on bag duty and good behavior, Noah, or you’re going to have to spend time at your foodless home; and possibly no hugs or cuddles in your future as well.”_ _

__Puck makes to cover Puckzilla and mutters. “Alright, alright, don’t get your panties in a twist or start making threats. You know I’ll carry the bags.” He then mutters “and I’ll behave.”_ _

__“Okay, you can come then, but you know Tina’s getting the front seat when we pick her up.”_ _

__“Of course, Princess, I am a gentleman after all. I always hold the door for you, don’t I?” Noah states, while smirking at Kurt as he gets in the truck before the boy can smack him. “Can I pick the music until then?”_ _

__“Alright, but I retain veto power if you suddenly get in the mood for hair metal bands from the 1980s. I refuse to endure what you and Finn put me through again.”_ _

__“It was one time! Are you never going to let that go?”_ _

__“Nope, I’m adding it to an already long tally of wrongs I plan to cash in on later.” Smiling sweetly as he says this._ _

__“You’re cruel, Kurt. I’m highly impressed.” Noah settles on a pop station and settles back into his seat; he’s dying to put his feet on the dash, but knows Kurt will cut his feet off at the ankles if Puck so much as gets a speck of dirt on his “baby.” “So where else are we going this morning? You don’t usually head to the mall this early.”_ _

__Kurt goes on to discuss the new coffee place and hoping for a quality place to get his coffee intake._ _

__“So you guys haven’t actually been there before? I think Santana and Brit have been, but I don’t remember if they liked it or not. I tend to tune Santana’s voice out, and just stare at her chest, and I am pretty sure Brit just mentioned something about a unicorn sighting or rainbows or some shit, so who knows.” He shrugs his shoulders. “Coffee is coffee though, in my opinion.”_ _

__“Hardly, Noah. Oh yes, you so obviously are such a gentleman. Quality coffee from anywhere but my house is generally hard to come by as well as a place to go and attempt to relax for a while. I love Rachel dearly, but she’s been over so much lately I could really use a place to get a break from Finchel.”_ _

__He shrugs and says, “I guess, man. I just don’t see the appeal. I like a good caffeine kick, sure, but I’d rather get it from a soda.”_ _

__“I’m sure they’ll have pastries there.”_ _

__“Wait...what? You didn’t tell there would be dessert stuff. You should really learn to lead with this, Kurt; it would by far get you farther then caffeine.”_ _

__“Oh yes, I’ll try that approach next time you decide that you want to tag along on one of my mall trips. I didn’t go into this realizing I was going to need to entice you anywhere.”_ _

__“Details, Kurt, details…you know, it’s one of those ceramics things. You know you love me and my company.” He turns to Kurt to smile in a way that Kurt assumes is supposed to be winningly. He’d never admit it, but Noah isn’t wrong._ _

__“I think you mean semantics, Noah.” Kurt says, and Noah just shrugs. Despite the rough beginning of their existence around each other, Puck has become one of his best friends. They tend to talk a lot, and considering that, Kurt feels bad that he hasn’t been more forthcoming about Karofsky and the bullying getting worse at school. He knows Noah would want to do something about it and he’s afraid that would just land Puck back into juvie, and that’s the last place he wants him._ _

__Kurt raises an eyebrow. “If by love you mean grudgingly tolerate, and by company you mean willing to allow you to hold my bags, then sure, I love you and your company.”_ _

__Smiling more smugly now, and like he knows exactly what Kurt has been thinking, Puck says  
“Exactly, I knew it.” He then begins to sing-song “You loooove meee.”_ _

__They’re almost to Tina’s house, so Kurt decides to refrain from any response and concentrates on driving and starts to hum along to the music on the radio, and pointedly ignore Noah’s singing._ _

__Once they pull into her driveway, Puck takes off his seatbelt and starts to climb over the seat. “No way, Noah! Use the door, you know the rules. I swear I’m going to start carrying a rolled up newspaper to smack bad mannered teenage boys on the nose.” He says as he points at the passenger door. “I don’t know what you are thinking.”_ _

__Noah’s shutting the backdoor and putting on his seatbelt when he states “I was just teasing, Princess. You’re too easy.”_ _

__“You’re a regular comedian, Noah; I’m simply stunned by your humor.”_ _

__Puck proceeds to stick his tongue out at Kurt. “I’m fucking hilarious and you know it.”_ _

__Tina’s climbing in before Kurt can respond, so he decides to let it go for now. Arguing with Noah is like arguing with a toddler anyway; pointless and usually involves some crying and Noah’s an ugly crier._ _

__Instead he turns to Tina. “Hey Sweetie, you’re looking wonderful this morning.” She is too, and she’s obviously in a good mood, so Tina’s all smiles._ _

__“Thanks Kurt, I decided to take your advice on the shoes and skirt.” Tina states as she brushes her hands down her skirt to straighten it some._ _

__“Not a problem. Oh, in case you hadn’t noticed, we picked up a stray for the day.” He nods his head to the backseat. “Claimed abandonment and lack of proper nourishment, but I refuse to adopt him forever. This is more like a fostering situation.”_ _

__Tina starts laughing just as Noah’s “Hey!” is said. Honestly, the boy is just too easy to tease._ _

__“That’s okay, I was going to ask if you would mind if Mike joined us in a couple hours any way. Now he can help keep Puck entertained and carry bags.” She smiles at Puck._ _

__“I don’t mind. At least he’s less likely to do anything stupid” Kurt says, while looking at Puck in the rearview mirror…who is crossing his eyes at Kurt and sticking out his tongue. “Why didn’t he just join us this morning?”_ _

__“His mom was insisting on a family breakfast and only agreed to let him go for the afternoon if he did the breakfast thing.” Kurt nods understandingly; his dad is the same way about Friday night dinners._ _

__They continue to chat and sing along to the radio as they make their way to coffee shop._ _

__

__\-----------------------------------------_ _

__

__Turning into the parking lot, the sign for the ‘Lima Bean’ comes into view. The place doesn’t look overly busy, but a decent amount of people seem to be inside._ _

__“Hope there’s some cake left.” Noah says, interrupting Kurt’s pondering._ _

__“I said pastries, Noah. I’m not sure that cake is available. Besides it’s just a little after nine in the morning, why would anyone want cake at this hour? You can’t possibly still be hungry; I made a ton of pancakes.”_ _

__“There’s always room for cake, Princess. It’s like you don’t even know me. Cake is like breakfast food anyway; it’s got milk, eggs, and stuff; totally good for me.” He states with a big smile._ _

__Rolling his eyes, Kurt says “Right, of course, silly me. I don’t know what I was thinking.”_ _

__“Exactly” Puck agrees and amps up the smile even more._ _

__Kurt can tell Tina is biting her lip to keep from laughing. “Oh just let it out, just don’t laugh too much. It’ll make him think he’s funnier than he actually is.”_ _

__Tina’s still chuckling and Noah’s got a smug look on his face as they enter the shop. He looks around and takes the place in. It smells great, like coffee of course, and the décor is fairly average, but it does look comfortable at least. About half the tables are filled with varying people; ranging from teenagers to one older couple by the front window._ _

__Puck’s already at the counter, checking out the display as Kurt finally makes his way up to the line to place an order._ _

__“Ha! They have cake, Kurt! I told you.” Puck states as he walks up to Kurt’s place in line._ _

__“Lovely, I’m sure your pores will love it” Kurt deadpans._ _

__“I don’t know about my pores, but my guns will.” He smirks and winks at Kurt._ _

__The line isn’t too long, so it only takes a few minutes to place their orders. They have what appears to be a decent selection of biscotti and he decides that, yes, he will be indulging himself.  
They’re making their way to a table, when someone stands up quickly and bumps into Kurt. _ _

__“Oh hey, I’m so sorry!” The guy, well, teen really says once he turns around._ _

__Luckily his drink has a lid, so Kurt is more shocked than anything else. Straightening his jacket some he says “No, no, it’s fine. Nothing’s spilt or burned.”_ _

__“Dude! You’re so lucky that didn’t spill on his clothes or I’m pretty sure your life would be over” Puck interjects._ _

__“Noah! Honestly.” Kurt looks to the boy. “Don’t listen to him; I’m pretty sure he was dropped on his head as a baby.” He then gives a pointed look to Puck; willing him to be quiet about his clothing obsession._ _

__Puck rolls his eyes. “Please, like it’s not true. Your glares alone are enough to set someone on fire.” So much for Kurt’s pointed look shutting him up._ _

__Tina cuts in before the back and forth can continue or escalate. “Hi, I’m Tina and this is Kurt and Puck.”_ _

__The boy smiles at her, but before he can speak his friend does. “Don’t mind Jeff, he’s more like an excitable puppy who hasn’t been properly house-trained yet. I’m trying to work on it though; maybe it’s time to get a squirt bottle.”_ _

__“Ha-fricking-ha, Nick. You’re real funny.” He turns back to the three others standing there smiling, before saying to Kurt “Really, I’m sorry about that.” Jeff smiles and sticks out his hand. “I’m Jeff and this hilarious individual over here is Nick.”_ _

__Kurt freezes for a minute, not quite in shock at the situation because not used to meeting such friendly boys willing to shake his hand, but then shakes himself internally and shakes Jeff’s extended hand. “Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you and like I said” He takes a moment to glare at Puck “everything’s fine, I swear.”_ _

__“Great! I’m still sorry though. I was talking to Nick about our friend, who’s meeting us here with another friend, and how he did this really stupid thing earlier this week and he’s really humiliated about it. So we decided to get him out of his house and told him to meet us here, so he wasn’t sitting at home moping and whining about how embarrassed and stupid he was. We figured since we hadn’t come here before it might be the perfect place to meet him because he loves coffee and normally he’s pretty upbeat and all. He might finally cheer up and then we won’t have to hear the complaining anymore either.” Jeff says all this while moving his hands around animatedly._ _

__Everyone, but Nick who has a fairly indulgent look on his face, is a bit shell-shocked in the face of such enthusiasm and exuberance. Kurt’s pretty sure the guy didn’t take a single breath the entire time and that this Jeff might just be able to give Rachel a run for her money in the amount of words that can be said with so little breathing involved._ _

__“Woah, dude! Breathe before you hurt yourself, man.” Puck says as Jeff finally stops to take a breath._ _

__“Don’t mind him, he’s usually like this.” Nick says while smiling “Hence, the excitable puppy reference.” Jeff sticks his tongue out at Nick after he says this, making Nick laugh._ _

__“So what did your friend do?” Tina asks curiously “If you don’t mind me asking?”_ _

__Jeff bites his lip and turns to Nick, who shrugs a little. “Here take a seat with us and we’ll tell you his tale of woe; it’ll take a little bit to explain it all anyway.” Nick looks barely able to contain his laughter, but they both appear to be nice guys, so after looking at each and silently agreeing, Puck, Tina, and Kurt take a seat with Nick and Jeff._ _

__“Hmm…tale of woe? Please, do tell. What exactly did your friend do? ” Kurt asks curiously as he sips on his coffee._ _

__“Well, our friend, though we love him dearly, doesn’t always make the best decisions when it comes to his love life; not that he has a huge one, mind you. However, like I said, we’re all in a singing group at our school, and he asked us to help him with trying to ask the guy he’s been crushing on, out.” Jeff relates, at a more sedate pace this time._ _

__“Wait, the dude thought singing to the guy was the best way to do this?” Puck states, like he hasn’t tried singing to win girls over or at least to get into their pants._ _

__Kurt’s still a little in shock about the fact their friend is obviously gay and maybe a little over the singing, but can’t let Noah’s comment go. “Please Noah, it’s not as though you haven’t attempted similar things or _worse _through song.”___ _

____Nick picks up on telling the story and ignores the interruptions. “Yeah, Blaine, that’s our friend, bless his gelled head (Tina, Kurt, and Puck all look at each other at that description), decided he wanted to serenade a guy at the Gap at the mall. We all sang back-up to him singing ‘When I Get You Alone” and let’s just say the guy was not appreciative and kept trying to walk away as Blaine sang. Blaine’s persistent though, and followed him, and possibly jumped on a few displays until the song was over. We keep telling him to stay off furniture, but the boy doesn’t listen. Unfortunately, the guy wasn’t into him and actually ended up getting fired over what happened. Poor Blaine was heartbroken and dateless. He was so sure that he was in ‘love’ and the two times they went out for coffee meant the guy felt the same. We’ve since dubbed the incident ‘The Gap Attack.’”_ _ _ _

____Noah barks out a laugh. “That’s some funny shit. I mean I feel bad for your friend and all, but that’s hilarious.”_ _ _ _

____“Noah! We’re in public, try to tone done the cursing, please.” Kurt admonishes, and then turns to look at Jeff and Nick. “I’m guessing the song choice didn’t help the matter either, but it sounds like his heart was in the right, albeit confused place. I can only imagine how your friend feels.” He’s thinking back at some of more embarrassing moments when he had his crush on Finn the previous year; good Gaga, what was he thinking!_ _ _ _

____Tina nods in agreement. “I think it’s sweet that he wanted to sing to the guy, but that song choice…well, it was definitely unique.” She’s obviously trying to be diplomatic about their friend’s experience, considering we’ve just met them._ _ _ _

____“Oh, unique is definitely one word you could use” Jeff says. “Along with horrible, ridiculous, awful, wretched…” He’s ticking the words on with his fingers when he’s interrupted by Nick before Jeff can continue his stint as a thesaurus._ _ _ _

____“Jeff, I think they get it.” Nick rolls his eyes. “It definitely wasn’t one of Blaine’s most shining moments. We all felt bad for him afterward, he’s a sweet, if oblivious guy. Of course that doesn’t mean we haven’t teased him about it also.” Jeff and Nick smile, somewhat evilly at this. “Like I said though, we’re having Blaine and another friend of ours, Wes, meet up with us here in the hopes of getting him out and cheering him up.”_ _ _ _

____“Perhaps we should take ourselves to another table then?” Kurt asks, he really doesn’t want to overstay their welcome and push into their time together outside of school. “We wouldn’t want to impose on your get together.” He looks around the coffee shop. “There’s plenty of seating.”_ _ _ _

____“No!” Jeff practically shouts while almost jumping out of his seat, and then looks a little sheepish for doing so. “Sorry, I mean, no, no you don’t have to leave. Blaine and Wes are good guys, and I’m sure they’d like to meet you all.” He’s takes a quick look at Kurt (who’s busy looking down at his phone for a second, so doesn’t notice), than faces Nick and says “Don’t you think so, Nick?”_ _ _ _

____Nick rolls his eyes, but smiles at his match-making boyfriend, and just before he speaks notices the boys they’re speaking of walk in. “Yeah, don’t worry about leaving. We promise Wes and Blaine aren’t too horrible. In fact, once you get to know them, they’re practically tolerable, I suppose. I mean, it may take you all awhile to get used to them though.”_ _ _ _

____Kurt looks up at that to see Nick smiling and Jeff giggling, then over at his own friends. He can tell they’re a little shocked at what’s been said. He’s about to speak when someone else beats him to it._ _ _ _

____“Thanks a lot, Nick. Your glowing recommendation has now become the highlight of not just my morning, but my entire week as well.” Someone states sarcastically from behind Kurt.  
Kurt, Tina, and Noah all turn to the newcomers._ _ _ _

____“Of course, Wes, you know I love to share the wonderfulness that is you with everyone I can.” Nick smiles even bigger at who the three friends assume is their friend Wes._ _ _ _

____Kurt’s eyes only stay on the taller of the two boys for a moment though; his attention is drawn to the shorter of the two. The boy, who he assumes is Blaine if the nature of his rather heavily gelled hair is any indication, is really good looking. With the way his hair is, and the outfit (including a bowtie) he’s got on, he’s got a 50s, old Hollywood kind of look about him. Kurt once again silently bemoans his lot in life of attending McKinley High School and internally sighs to himself. He looks over at Noah, who’s looking back at him and smirking (Kurt mouths a shut up, Noah!), before settling on Tina who’s smiling at the newcomers._ _ _ _

____Kurt turns back to the new additions to the table as Nick begins to speak again. “Wes, Blaine, meet our new friends Tina, Puck, and Kurt.” All three smile at the boys. “Jeff got a little excited (Jeff rolls his eyes at this) and practically burned poor Kurt here and nearly ruined his clothes, but it’s ended well with us hopefully all becoming new friends.”_ _ _ _

____Blaine and Wes seem shocked a little, but offer friendly smiles just the same. “Why do I not find it surprising that Jeff got excited and almost wounded someone?” Wes states. “I told you to get his tail clipped, Nick, he’s bound to do some serious damage one of these days.”_ _ _ _

____“Ha, ha, ha, Wes, and here I was about to offer to get you two some coffee. You’re on your own now, Wes. I’m only buying one for Blaine.”_ _ _ _

____Blaine smiles winningly, and Kurt can almost imagine that given different circumstances he’d be just as puppy-like as Jeff. “Thanks Jeff!” He turns to the trio of friends. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”_ _ _ _

____Puck, unfortunately, pipes up. “Dude, I hope you’re feeling better after that epic fail. Try the cake, it’s fu…er..fricking awesome (he changes at an eyebrow raise from Kurt).”_ _ _ _

____“Oh honestly, Puck!” Kurt’s beginning to wonder if he should get Noah a muzzle._ _ _ _

____Blaine speaks at the same time. “Jeff! Nick! How could you? It’s embarrassing enough that all the rest of the Warblers as well as those at the store saw what happened. I wish you wouldn’t share my embarrassment.”_ _ _ _

____“Warblers?” Tina asks._ _ _ _

____“Oh, that’s the glee club at our school in Westerville.” Wes states. He’s back from getting coffee, and hands one to Blaine as they both take a seat._ _ _ _

____“We’re in a glee club as well, and trust me” Kurt says, as he looks at Blaine “there have been plenty of embarrassing moments, including in front of the entire student body (thinking of singing Push It); so you’re not alone.” He finishes with a small smile, and probably a little bit of a blush that he’s sure Noah will remind him of later._ _ _ _

____Blaine smiles back. “Oh really? You guys will have to share some stories with us.”_ _ _ _

____They all spend the next hour or so exchanging stories and Kurt is feeling fairly good about making some new friends outside of their school. He’s even exchanged phone numbers with all four of the boys, and made promises to keep in touch. Kurt’s a little smitten with Blaine; not that he’ll admit it to anyone. He does plan on texting him though, even though he doubts Blaine could ever be interested in him. Kurt’s just about to tell Puck to stop asking for more cake, when Tina’s phone chirps._ _ _ _

____“Oh, Kurt, it’s Mike. He says he can meet us at the mall in about 30 minutes. His mother is finally letting him out of the house.”_ _ _ _

____“I guess that’s our cue to head out of here.” He turns to the four boys. “Wes, Nick, Jeff, Blaine…it’s been a pleasure meeting you all, but we’ve got an important appointment to keep with the mall.” Puck’s already standing and taking their trash to throw away, as Tina and Kurt stand up._ _ _ _

____“It was great meeting you guys. For once Jeff’s hyperactivity has been a good thing.” Nick states, as Jeff cuffs him upside that head. Wes and Blaine are nodding their heads in agreement, so Jeff sticks his tongue out at the two of them._ _ _ _

____“Dudes, it’s been awesome. You’re guys aren’t so bad.” Kurt’s pondering on how much Puck has mellowed out since freshman year as said boy is offering fist bumps. Of course, filling him with sugar helps too. A well-fed Puck is a more easy-going Puck._ _ _ _

____They all agree to meet up again soon, and Blaine’s making Kurt promise to text him the coming week and Jeff does the same. He smiles and offers his promises, and then the three are heading towards the door._ _ _ _

____Kurt’s almost to his truck when he turns to see both Tina and Puck smiling at him. Well, Tina is smiling, Noah is sporting a smirk. Tina is definitely his favorite._ _ _ _

____“What?” He asks, and Tina’s smile just gets bigger._ _ _ _

____“Someone’s got a crush” Puck sing-songs._ _ _ _

____“What?! No, I was just being friendly! _He _was just being friendly.” Kurt’s feeling both annoyed and a little flustered, but he certainly isn’t going to admit to crushing on anyone. Both Tina and Noah start chuckling. “Ugh, oh shut up both of you! I don’t know why we’re friends.”___ _ _ _

______“Ha! How did you know who we were talking about, Princess!?” Noah declares._ _ _ _ _ _

______Of course, now it’s Tina who sing-songs a reply right after Noah speaks. “Because you looooove us.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’m beginning to reconsider that, and I don’t think you’re going to be my favorite anymore, Tina.” He pouts a little as he climbs in and puts his seatbelt on._ _ _ _ _ _

______“He’s cute, Kurt. Nothing wrong with liking him a little” Tina grins while she states “and you got his number.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Went a little crazy with the hair gel though, he might be flammable; keep him away from any flames.” All three laugh at that as he pulls out of the parking lot; it was a lot of gel._ _ _ _ _ _

______Kurt’s thinking about handsome boys in bowties, new friends, and good coffee as they head off to the mall._ _ _ _ _ _

______\--------------------_ _ _ _ _ _

______Back at the Lima Bean_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Well, I definitely liked them a lot. I’m glad we met them.” Jeff is commenting and Nick nods his agreement with his boyfriend._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I agree. Kurt was really nice, considering how it could have gone with the coffee. Don’t you agree, Blaine?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Blaine looks up from his phone, a little startled; he’d been looking at some goofy text his brother sent. “What? Oh, yeah, they were really nice. Kurt seems like a really great guy.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Jeff nudges Nick, to get him talking more about Kurt. “Getting Kurt to promise to get in contact with you was pretty smooth, Blaine. Maybe he can help you out with your Gap Guy problem.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I think he’ll be a good friend, so I wanted to make sure we stayed in contact. Not sure how he can help me with Jeremiah though.” Blaine gives a puzzled little shrug and looks back down at his phone. His study partner for science wants to change meet up times because he’s “hooking up with someone hot unless Blaine is wants to take the guy’s place” during the original time. Before he can even roll his eyes and type out a reply he’s interrupted by his Wes._ _ _ _ _ _

______Wes, Jeff, and Nick all roll their eyes at Blaine’s obliviousness, and Wes speaks up. “Of course you don’t, Blaine; which is not even a little bit surprising.”_ _ _ _ _ _


	4. Chapter 4

So, I really I hate that it’s taken this long to update and I apologize to everyone; I do plan on updating regularly from now on. Life just got in the way, but I’ve since finished up getting my Master’s degree, dealt with the hubby’s deployment, and started a new job (more hours more pay, yes, please!). Things have settled down and I can update on regular basis. I have appreciated the comments and kudos that I’ve received; please feel free to offer suggestions or prompts because I’ll definitely take them into consideration. I know where I want this story to go, but that doesn’t mean the journey is set in stone. Also, I’ve edited and added a few things (sentences, corrections, etc.) in the previous three chapters, but nothing that’s changed any of what I had written. I don’t have a Beta, so all mistakes are my own, and sadly I still don’t own anything in regard to Glee or the characters of said show; only what is my original content is my own. 

 

________________

Kurt’s sitting in his room reflecting on how crappy the last week and a half has been overall; despite the friends in his life and especially Blaine as well as his other new friends texting him. He’s not about to burden any of his new friends with his ongoing dilemma; the friendships are just too new and he doesn’t want to discuss his problems only to find out he’s more trouble than he’s worth to them. Even if he’s not, he would hate to cause any distress for anyone else when everything going on is his own problem. Kurt would hate to worry his dad, too, when he is so great to Kurt and has his shop as well as a new wife to think of.

His number one bully seems to really be stepping up his game, and he’s got the bruises and some cuts on various parts of his body to prove it. One particularly hard hit as he was walking out of a classroom had him knocking the side of his head against a doorway and seeing stars. Kurt’s pretty sure at least one teacher saw it happen, but he’s not at all surprised no one did or said anything. He’s not even sure why Karofsky’s so damn persistent in all things torturing Kurt, but it’s definitely wearing him down and his ability to not let it bother him is getting harder to accomplish. Well, at least not letting it show that it bothers him anyway. The locker checks are getting more brutal as are the pushes he receives when he has the misfortune of having to walk too close to one of his tormenters in a doorway or hall. Unfortunately, he can’t always walk the school with someone and avoid being alone in the hopes the bullies forgo doing anything.

Kurt had even made the mistake of going to his locker between classes and had the bad luck of Karofsky doing the same thing. Suffice it to say, the event ended with Kurt on the floor and what will no doubt become some spectacular bruises on his back as well as sore wrist from landing on it wrong. He doesn’t even want to think about the fact that the incident brought tears to his eyes, but takes comfort in knowing that no one saw them. Besides, the fall hurt, so of course some accidental tearing can occur. The last thing he wants is anyone to see those tears though; his pride can only take so many hits, so-to-speak, at once. It had taken a lot for him to get up off the floor, carefully dust himself, and behave as though nothing had happened once he grabbed his stuff. Collecting himself had also taken more than a few minutes in the girl’s bathroom and applying some salve before he could return to class, and act as though everything was normal. 

He could barely stand looking in the mirror at his own reflection. Kurt knows everything is starting to take its toll and despite the obliviousness of most of his friends, he is rather surprised _none _of them have noticed anything yet. At least he’s willing himself into believing that as opposed to the possibility they have noticed and just aren’t going to say anything. He realizes that he’s not the only one hassled at the school, especially in Glee, but doubts any of the other candidates are receiving any physical harassment beyond a slushie; he knows he would notice if that were the case.__

__However, he’s pretty sure that Puck (possibly Tina too) are going to notice something soon, especially if this coming weekend is going to involve watching movies together (Puck inevitably ends up wanting to cuddle, something Kurt learned over the summer) and will notice any wincing. Kurt knows there are telltale signs of shadowing on his face, and there’s also only so much cover up under his eyes he can get away with using. Puck is generally more observant than people give him credit for; this is one reason why Kurt’s avoided him when he can. He also knows both Tina and Puck will only put up with his avoidance routines for so long before seeking him out, so he’s just got to figure out a way to deal with this situation before anyone can notice. Kurt’s just currently at a loss as to what he can do to make it stop; the last thing he wants is to worry his dad so mentioning anything to him is out of the question. He’s got to be strong though and look out for his dad, so he’ll just have to think of something._ _

__This has, unfortunately, left him feeling more isolated than ever though, but Kurt’s not really able or willing to show his weaknesses to anyone, if he can avoid it. He’s taken to visiting his mom on more than one occasion, just to talk things out while getting away from people and reflecting on how much he wishes she was there. Kurt can picture her warm smile and longs for the comfort her hugs always brought; the smell of her perfume dispelling all the bad, even if just for a little while. When he can’t go to visit her, he’s taken to leaning against her old dresser in his room that smells like her perfume wrapped in a blanket she made him when he was younger when no one else is home._ _

__Besides this, his self-esteem has taken some hits as well. For whatever reason, Mr. Schue decided duets were the perfect assignment for this week (as a competition); even though there’s an uneven amount of members in Glee currently. At first Kurt didn’t think this would be a problem, but Mercedes paired herself with Santana, and Brittany was quick to pair with Artie. Sugar had quickly asked Puck to sing with her, so that left him out as an option as well. Mike and Tina were obviously going to sing together._ _

__Initially, Kurt found a partner in the new guy, Sam, but thanks to Finn as well as some comments by his father, Kurt decided to release Sam from his obligation to sing with him. Both Finn and his father seem to think Kurt preys upon straight guys, should he show one any type of attention; innocent or not. Finn felt it was in Sam’s best interest to not duet with Kurt and made this abundantly clear to Kurt. Kurt really thought Finn had changed his views, but he’s beginning to rethink this a little. Add on that his father brought up his stupid crush on Finn (like he needed to be reminded of that ridiculousness) and Kurt is beginning to really doubt himself…thinking maybe he is taking advantage of Sam. He’s not entirely sure that he is, and Kurt honestly wanted to just sing a duet with the guy…that was all. Sure, Sam’s cute and he didn’t seem to have a real issue singing with Kurt, but Kurt simply pushed him to sing with Quinn instead, and told Sam he would figure something out. He actually spent a little time some time texting Jeff about possible performance ideas, but overall this was decidedly becoming one of the worst couple weeks of his life, and he really didn’t see any improvements in sight._ _

__He did enjoy performing Le Jazz Hot, and knows he impressed everyone, but he still feels let down and left out. Kurt doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with him, but events like these leave him wondering people are seeing something that he just isn’t. Rachel, in a fit of surprising empathy or probably more likely, sympathy, suggested they perform together for fun since the competition was over. Their rendition of Judy Garland and Barbara Streisand’s duet mash-up of "Happy Days Are Here Again" and "Get Happy" went really well, and he has to admit he enjoyed singing it. Sometimes it’s just so fun to really to sing songs like that to a mostly appreciative audience. Kurt’s equally happy Sam and Quinn won the duet and not the usual duo of Rachel and Finn._ _

__After Mr. Schue leaves the choir room, Rachel makes a big show of announcing she has something important to show everyone. She then proceeds to get out her laptop and pulls up a video of a singing group. The entire thing is fairly blurry so they can’t really make out the people, however they can hear the singing and it’s really good and the blurs seemed to be dancing fairly well also._ _

__“These are the Warblers from Dalton High School…well Academy, I guess, and of Glee clubs we’re up against this year.” Rachel states. “I thought it was in our best interest to hear our competition; unfortunately, the video picture quality is horrible, but they are obviously not bad.”_ _

__“Not bad!? They’re pretty damn good.” Puck says._ _

__“Regretfully, they are not terrible; especially, their lead singer. He’s not up to my singing abilities, of course” Rachel says, and has almost everyone rolling their eyes “but, he does sing well and the crowd sounds as though they enjoyed the Warblers’ singing.”_ _

__The group listens to the choir again, and Kurt can tell that everyone is a little nervous over their own club’s chances; especially, since they have yet to decide on a set list for their performance. Shocking…Kurt refrains from rolling his eyes yet again; he’d be more worried if they had picked one actually._ _

__Kurt’s not sure who came up with the idea first, but all of a sudden almost the entire group is nodding their heads and agreeing that it might be a good idea to get more information on this choir. Personally, he thinks the idea is a little overkill and allowing for Rachel’s paranoia just a tad too much. He understands after the debacle with Jesse St. Sucks she’s suspicious, but wouldn’t spying make us the bad guys in this scenario?_ _

__Kurt should have probably spent more time in the choir room listening instead of contemplating, because all of a sudden everyone’s looking at him and he’s thinking he’s missed a significant portion of the discussion. Apparently because they (see Rachel, Finn, and Puck…and won’t he be having words with that boy later) think he’ll fit in well enough to blend in and carry out the spy mission. It’s not until he’s home that Kurt really spends time wondering on the intelligence of spying on another choir…a choir full of boys. He also doubts his ability to blend in, and not be discovered. Hopefully, nothing goes wrong seeing as he’s going into this without anyone else there for support or back-up._ _

__

__\----------------------------------------------_ _

__

__Kurt is more than slightly overwhelmed by the school when he arrives; the school is a pretty good size and gorgeous. The architecture is lovely and he spends a minute being jealous of the boys who go here who probably don’t appreciate it. Although he’s only lived about 20 minutes away from the place, he’s never had any reason to come here. In fact, he can count on one hand how many times he’s been to Westerville, and still have fingers left over; there’s never been any real reason to come. If they have needed anything the mall in Lima didn’t have, then a trip to Columbus was more in the cards then Westerville. Kurt climbs out of his car, more than once berating himself for letting Puck and the rest of the club talk him into doing this. He takes a deep breath while adjusting the outfit he’s put together in the hopes of being able to fit in, pulls on his messenger back, and steels himself as he walks towards the front doors…the very _large _front doors. After entering, it quickly becomes apparent that despite his best efforts, his clothing is definitely going to stand out. He’ll have to rely on playing the nervous (really not a problem) possible new and lost (also not a problem) kid, in the hopes that it will distract from his lack of proper uniform.___ _

____A bell sounds, and the once filled hallways begin to empty and Kurt isn’t sure what he should do. So far he hasn’t blended in as much as been ignored; which is not quite a problem, but doesn’t really help with his supposed “mission” he had no choice but to accept. He glances around, and notices a tall boy with brown hair who’s not in a blazer, but in what looks like a sports uniform about to head up the stairs. Bracing himself, and he mentally prepares himself before starting his approach. He can totally do this…approach a strange boy, at a strange school that he’s not supposed to be at._ _ _ _

____He almost turns back toward the front entrance, but braces himself and starts towards the stairs. “Excuse me.” The boy turns around, and looks at him with a raised eyebrow. “Um, hi, I’m new here and I was hoping…”_ _ _ _

____The brown haired boy interrupts him. “No you’re not.”_ _ _ _

____“What? Yes, I am.” Wow, he expected better manners at a prep school._ _ _ _

____“While I’m sure it’s a pleasure (Kurt can’t quite tell if the boy is being sarcastic or not) to make your acquaintance, I can tell just by looking at you that you don’t go here.” The boy turns completely toward Kurt and crosses his arms in front of his chest._ _ _ _

____Almost forgetting why he’s there, Kurt bristles at this. “What exactly do you mean by that?”_ _ _ _

____The boy quickly unfolds his arms and holds up his hands to fend off Kurt’s ire. “Calm down, Kitten. I mean that your outfit is a dead giveaway that you aren’t a Dalton student. The dress code is pretty strict, and that is definitely not a Dalton blazer.”_ _ _ _

____Somewhat placated, Kurt relaxes a little before looking down at his clothes. Kurt sighs and shrugs, “I suppose it is rather glaringly obvious.” He had gone into this doubting that his outfit would actually blend in. He really should have researched more, but he had gotten distracted by a Project Runway rerun as well as Finn’s insistence that he watch an episode…or five of Dr. Who. Kurt absolutely refuses to acknowledge that he enjoys it._ _ _ _

____The boy interrupts his mental musings when he starts to speak again. “So what exactly are you doing here anyway? Now that we’ve established you’re not a student here.”_ _ _ _

____Kurt tenses right back up again, because even though the guy doesn’t seem like he’s going to do him any harm, he’s fairly used to having to be on the defensive. “I could be a possible new student, looking at the facilities.” If the uniform is any indication, the guys a jock and most of his experiences with the type haven’t been good; maybe he’ll be as dumb as the jocks at McKinley. “However, I’d prefer not to say actually.”_ _ _ _

____Smirking, the guy replies. “You’d _prefer _not to say huh? Interesting; I guess I’ll just have to do something about that.”___ _ _ _

______Kurt panics and takes a step back, looking over his shoulder at the front door behind him; he’s now thinking maybe heading for the front door would be the best idea. “What? You’re not going to beat me up are you?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______The boy looks shocked; which does make Kurt feel a little better. “Beat you up? Of course not; why the hell would you think that? I meant taking you to the headmaster.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______This hardly makes Kurt feel any better and looks at the door again. The boy doesn’t seem like he’s lying, so Kurt figures maybe honesty will be the best policy in this instance. At least he knows he’s not going to get hurt; he hopes. “No, please don’t do that. I’m not trying to start any trouble or anything; I just came to see the Warblers.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______This seems to pique the boy’s interest somewhat; because for whatever reason this makes him perk up and tilt his head while looking at Kurt. “Hmm…and why is it that you want to see them?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______A little uncomfortable at the scrutiny he’s under, Kurt drops his shoulders in defeat. He had been hoping his previous statement would be enough and, again, hopes that the guy is being truthful about not hurting him and won’t turn him into the headmaster. Kurt can just imagine trying to explain this situation to his dad; of course he’d blame the entire thing Rachel, Finn, and Puck, but his dad would still give him his disappointed look and Kurt tries to avoid that as much as possible. However, he supposes that perhaps not every school is like McKinley, and again answers truthfully. “Well, I guess I’m scouting out the competition? Some of the people in my show choir thought it would be a good idea to check out the other groups we’d be competing against, and they volunteered (he rolls his eyes at this) me to come here.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“So you’re a spy.” The boy says; more a statement than question._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Well, I suppose that’s one way you could put it.” Kurt says while looking at his nails._ _ _ _ _ _

______The boy barks out a laugh. “That’s exactly how it should be put.” He’s chuckling still while looking Kurt over a little again; which makes Kurt want to cross his arms over his chest, but he forces himself not to. “Well, you look relatively harmless (Kurt’s not sure if he should be mad about that statement or not), so I won’t turn you in. In fact” he says while stopping to look at his watch “I’ll take you to see the Warblers perform. They are doing a not so ‘impromptu’ performance in just a few minutes. I would normally already be there, but I had to skip performing because of lacrosse practice.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Shocked, Kurt asks “You’re a Warbler?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“That’s right, Kitten; in the flesh.” The boy makes a show smirking and waving his hand down his body._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Would you stop calling me that? My name is Kurt and most definitely not a feline.” He huffs out, and this time he does cross his arms. It’s not the worst thing he’s ever been called, but he has no doubt that the boy is doing it just to annoy him._ _ _ _ _ _

______“But you get fluffed up just like a kitten, so I think the name is appropriate. The names Sebastian Smythe, and I know it’s a pleasure to meet me.” He has the gall to wink at Kurt, who has never dealt with anyone like this before. The closest being Puck, but he’s had years to get used to him and all summer to know that he was more than what he was portraying. Eyeing this…Sebastian, he’s not sure he’s willing to believe or think the same about him._ _ _ _ _ _

______Despite being thrown off a little by Sebastian, Kurt says “Hardly” with a roll of his eyes. He’s beginning to wonder if the rest of the Warblers will be so full of themselves. This is a private school after all and aren’t most rich kids supposed to be snooty and stuck up? Kurt stops that train of thought though; he’s not being fair and hates it when people stereotype him, even if this guy isn’t possible giving the best example of the school or the singing group. This boy…Sebastian…hasn’t been mean either, really, just obnoxious._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Come along now, we need to head up where they will be performing if you want to catch them singing.” He grabs Kurt’s wrist, and, surprisingly, gently tugs him up the stairs. “If nothing else, there’s plenty of eye candy to check out in the group. Not that you haven’t had a fine specimen all to yourself for the last few minutes.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Ignoring Sebastian’s words, Kurt thinks, huh, as he lets the boy pull him along; so Sebastian is gay or at least it would seem so, after a comment like that. Kurt wasn’t sure up to that point, despite the attitude and the nickname._ _ _ _ _ _

______“So, the Warblers…are they unpopular here?” Kurt’s dying to know, considering the social status of his own club._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Unpopular? We’re like rock stars at this school.” Sebastian smugly states._ _ _ _ _ _

______Kurt’s not sure if he should roll his eyes at that statement or not; he’s intrigued by the idea of a glee club actually being popular. The idea is such a foreign concept to him; like the thought of Rachel willingly giving up a solo or one of her ridiculous animal sweaters._ _ _ _ _ _

______Sebastian and Kurt finish walking up the stairs, and Kurt is then directed towards a hallway that appears to have a lot of the students gathered around. Kurt is more than a little nervous, considering the reason he has infiltrated the school (and hasn’t always had the best experience with crowds in schools), but he was curious even more so. Sebastian had made what Kurt considered a wild claim that the show choir here at Dalton was not only popular, but like “rock stars” at the school. After his own experience, Kurt was holding off on judgment; however, as they got closer he was willing to admit the crowd didn’t look menacing, and instead looked excited._ _ _ _ _ _

______“They’re about to start” says Sebastian, interrupting Kurt’s train of thought, as the both stop to stand with the rest of the students there to watch._ _ _ _ _ _

______Kurt looks up and notices a couple things, first and foremost being that he knows some of these “Warblers.” Secondly, he now realizes that even though he knew Blaine, Nick, Jeff, and Wes attended private school, he never asked which one or where it was located. He’s somewhat surprised, thinking back now that it never came up, but then none of them have actually spent a ton of time talking about their schools specifically. The last thing he generally wants to talk about is the crap that happens at his school or more precisely what he deals with on a daily basis. As the group starts to sing, he sees exactly when the boys notice him as well. He’s a little nervous about their reactions…offering a tentative smile and wave, but Blaine and Jeff have huge smiles on their faces. Of course, they don’t know why he’s here yet, but he’s hopeful that they won’t hold it against him. He’s not here to steal any of their set list or anything; personally he is just there to get out of Lima for a bit and have enough information to placate Rachel about the Warblers. Of course, they both probably have different ideas as to what equals information, but he couldn’t care less._ _ _ _ _ _

______He’s really enjoying the performance even though Katy Perry isn’t necessarily one of his favorite singers, and notes that Blaine is a great singer and very enthusiastic; if the amount of time he spends jumping around on various pieces of furniture is any indication. Kurt wonders if it’s just him imagining things, because Blaine spends a lot of time looking at him and smiling while he’s sing, it all seems a little flirty. Kurt mentally shakes his head, nah, Blaine is just being friendly and happy at seeing a friend._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Should we put some newspaper down so he doesn’t pee on the floor?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Kurt almost startles, forgetting for a moment that the other boy was next to him, looks over at Sebastian after he says this and raises an eyebrow._ _ _ _ _ _

______Sebastian notices his look, and shrugs. “What? Blaine, the guy singing lead is a hottie and a good guy, but he’s really excitable. I’ve known him since the summer, so I know that which I speak. Sometimes I think we should start using a water bottle to squirt at him when gets on the furniture, the headmaster isn’t particularly fond of that part of any of his performances. He also looked about ready to wet himself when he saw you standing over here; so I’m assuming you two know each other.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______He doesn’t say this with any malice, so after looking over at a Blaine who’s smiling brightly and heading over to them now that the song is over Kurt looks back at Sebastian giving the boy a small smile and nod of his head to concede the point. He’s a tad bit… _enamored _with Blaine, if he is being totally honest with no one else but himself; however, he can’t deny that Blaine is a very enthusiastic performing. He would actually probably get along with Rachel and Sugar fairly well.___ _ _ _ _ _

________“Kurt! Hi! It’s so good to see you. Did you like the performance?” Blaine greets Kurt rapidly. Jeff and Nick walk up right behind him. However, before Kurt can answer though, Blaine moves on to another question and looks at Kurt with his head tilted to the side. “What brings you to Dalton? I’m kind of surprised to see you here.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Kurt is a tad frozen between trying to come up with an answer (that isn’t the truth) and reflecting that Blaine really isn’t helping to dispel the puppy image by looking at him that way; thankfully, before he can answer, Sebastian saves him the trouble._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Ah, yes, I came upon our _new _student on the way to the performance. Why ever didn’t you tell me you knew Betty White, Blaine? I found her trolling the halls.” Sebastian throws out, smirking.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Shooting a glare at the obnoxious boy, he says simply “Ugh, anyone ever tell you you’re an ass?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I’ve been told I have a great ass plenty of times.” Sebastian shoots back at him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Kurt refrains from saying anything else directly to Sebastian, and instead looks at Blaine. “You know, Blaine, I’m all for being closer to nature, but housing a Meerkat in your school really isn’t right or he should at least be locked up in a science classroom. Though to be safest” Kurt sends a side look to Sebastian while crinkling his nose “you should really release him back in the wild before he passes on any diseases…I doubt he’s very sociable any way.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Oh look at that, Kitten’s got claws. Put away your buffed nails, Betty, I didn’t mean anything by it.” Sebastian’s a little shocked at the quick comeback. Most guys in the school aren’t too bad, but are generally not quick on the uptake or simply not willing to engage in any form of verbal combat; no matter the intentions, good or not. It can get to be so boring, and Sebastian hates getting bored; it’s generally a good thing to avoid since he tends to do stupid or destructive things when he is. He’s pretty sure his dad won’t be happy if he causes any more trouble, and Sebastian doesn’t really want to make his dad angry any way or make him disappointed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Hmm, I find that hard to believe.” He’s really not sure how to take the comments; they seem to be in fun, but he’s just so used to being made fun of for his looks that it’s hard to accept when someone he doesn’t know says it. Kurt knows he’s not ugly, and his girls tell him that his “hot,” but it is a little different hearing something from a guy who’s gay as well. A lot of comments tend to lean toward calling him “pretty” and he’s rather ambivalent in regard to his feelings about that. Internally sighing, he thinks about the boys in this particular group. He hates himself for doing it, but he’s already checked out Sebastian, and despite comparing Sebastian to what pretty much amounts to a rodent, he’s willing to acknowledge, if only to himself, that he’s not entirely hideous. In fact, since Kurt’s keeping this knowledge internal anyway, Sebastian’s _probably _what many would consider attractive. That is if tall, handsome, and athletic can be considered attractive. Blaine’s quite handsome as well; with his hazel eyes and a mouth that always seems to be smiling. Jeff and Nick are good looking as well; even if Jeff is rather hyperactive. If he was going to hold that against the guy, he’d have to do the same with Blaine and he’d rather not do that. Kurt barely suppresses rolling his eyes, he wonders if maybe there’s something in the water at this school, and if that’s the case, could he _please _get the same thing for McKinley. It’s inordinately unfair that this school has so many out, cute gay boys and he’s stuck as the only one at his own school only miles away. Aren’t the rich supposed to be repressed? Shaking himself, he brings himself back to listen to the conversation going on between Blaine, Sebastian, Jeff, and Nick; the boys completely unaware of his mental musings._____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Kurt here is a spy, boys.” Sebastian smirks again, as he states this._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Kurt is beginning to hate the smirk that seems to be a permanent fixture on Sebastian’s face. He’s considering stomping on the boy’s toes to remove it, but settles for ignoring him instead, and turning to his friends. Kurt might as well explain himself._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“I had no idea that you guys went here or that this was the choir you were in. My club pushed me to come here to check out the competition and see how the Warblers sounded after we watched a blurry performance posted on YouTube. I really didn’t mean any harm. I think my friend Rachel would have set up spycams or something if I hadn’t come.” Kurt explains to his friends, and attempts to ignore Sebastian who doesn’t look like he cares one way or the other anyway._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Blaine smiles at him. “It’s alright, Kurt. That’s not a song we’ll be performing at competition anyway. I didn’t realize we never mentioned our school or choir name.” He shrugs. “Not a big deal I don’t think. Though we might want to not tell Wes the real reason you’re here.” All of the boys turn to look at the one mentioned, shaking their heads in agreement._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Jeff jumps in. “Definitely not! He’s a little intense about the Warblers; especially since he’s on the council.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Kurt’s a little lost about what he means by “the council,” but he definitely knows Wes can be intense about things if previous conversations are any indication._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Nick chimes in next. “Now on to more important things; so Kurt, what did you think?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Kurt smiles at his friends. “I thought you guys were great, and Blaine you did a wonderful job.” He really can’t help the shy smile he gives the boy, but he’s hoping there’s no blushing going on. Sometimes he almost hates his skin, it always gives him away._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“It would have been better had I been able to perform too.” Sebastian mutters. Kurt looks over and Sebastian almost looks sullen as he says this._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Kurt ignores Sebastian’s comment because he has no clue how the boy actually sounds, but assumes he must have to be decent to be in the group, and instead says “Although you guys didn’t mention Dalton at the time, I seem to recall mention of decent coffee to be had at your school.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Blaine smiles brightly at Kurt and nods his head. “You would be correct, my friend!” He proceeds to thread his arm with Kurt’s and begins walking down a hall similar to the one Sebastian had led him down. “In fact, we’ll head down there now since we’re free this period.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Sounds good to me” Kurt replies and the rest of the boys, including Sebastian join them._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________\--------------------------------_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________While Kurt is driving home he’s reflecting on the conversation they had over coffee before he had to head back to Lima. One piece of interesting news he learned was that Dalton had a no tolerance policy when it came to bullying, and Kurt couldn’t help but be envious. How nice it must be to walk through school and not have to worry about being thrown into dumpsters, getting slushie facials, or bounced off lockers by jocks. He had refrained giving full details of what he dealt with at McKinley, but noticed Blaine and Sebastian looking at him like they’d possibly figured out something was wrong regardless. The possible concern from Blaine is sweet and nice, but he’s curious about Sebastian’s actual intentions because he spent most of the time teasing everyone, but especially Kurt. It’s not like they can do anything for him anyway, and he really doesn’t want their pity. He goes to bed that night wondering exactly what he’ll tell everyone in Glee; probably just that the Warblers are really good. He’ll have to tell Puck and Tina that their new friends are in the singing group, and avoid telling Rachel that he knows any of the members for as long as he can. Kurt really doesn’t want to deal with her crazy or her likening this to what happened with Jesse St. Sucks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________As he’s falling asleep his hopeful that the coming weeks will be better than the previous ones, but won’t hold his breath. Even though Kurt knows his dad would want to know what’s going on he’s not going to say anything; the last thing he wants is something to stress out his dad and some kind of health problem crop up. At least he’s got the weekend to enjoy and maybe some texting with Blaine and the other boys too._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Well that’s chapter one, and hopefully it’s not horrible and a good introduction into the story. I don’t plan on doing every chapter equal one day every time; though I do plan on somewhat a slow build. Like I mentioned at the top, I plan on this being Kurtbastian endgame and mixing up the timeframe some as well as ages; so remember this warning when stuff that already happened in the series hasn’t happened yet. Just an example, I plan on Kurt and Mercedes joining the Cheerios in the current school year, and not their sophomore year like in the show. Let me know if I seem to be doing alright. I will do my best to update on a fairly regularly basis.


End file.
